Gone
by veiledbride
Summary: The Golden Trio had a falling out, and never saw each other after that. Years later, when tragedy strikes, the three ex best friends will have to reunite to try and bring their world back together again. Without them, nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I would like to point out to you that this story is **not** going to be heavily based around romance. It is in the mystery category, and while there are going to be elements of romance, it is not the focus. I hope you stick around to read, but if your looking for heavy romance, I don't suggest this story. But if you're still with me, I hope you enjoy!

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Harry sat quietly at the bottom of the grand staircase, taking in the destruction that surrounded him. Paintings were ripped and hanging limply in their frames, their occupants standing in neighboring frames, waiting for rescue. Rubble lay around him on all sides, and he kicked a piece of stone in front of him. He looked around the Entrance Hall watching some students moving pieces of rock about and trying to collect the stones from the house points counter. Ministry officials were struggling to magic the doors back on, and Harry could see people milling about outside.

A laugh echoed from inside the Great Hall. Harry was glad people could laugh again. He wasn't sure he would anytime soon. He could see Ginny and Luna talking to a boy he thought might have been in Hufflepuff and smiled at the group. Now he could finally have a relationship with Ginny and not have to worry about a madman interrupting his life.

It still hadn't sunk in that he would never have to deal with Voldemort again. Harry had spent seven years of his life fighting him, and from now on he would never have to see old snake face again. Relief didn't cover the emotions he was feeling today.

He was glad that he could finally have a normal life. He started to daydream about the life he would have…maybe with a certain red-headed witch and a few kids…

His dream of a quiet life was rudely interrupted by a burst of angry yelling.

"How many times do I have to tell you Ron? It didn't mean anything. Why can't you just believe me for once in your life!"

Everyone in the entrance hallway looked up at the sound coming from the staircase. Harry sighed. He had thought that now his two best friends were a couple, they might finally stop bickering about every little thing. Apparently he was wrong.

"I don't know Hermione. Maybe it's because I saw something in his eyes that told me a different story! I don't like him."

Harry craned his head a round to find Hermione racing down the steps, with Ron following close behind with a deeply red face. Hermione spotted Harry first. "Harry! What are you doing here? Why aren't you resting?" Her face showed concern at his weary appearance. He just shrugged. "I wanted to see if I could help, but no one wants me to. They said I'd done enough."

Ron grinned at him. "Geez mate! Why help when you just defeated the most evil wizard ever? You should have people running around trying to keep you happy." Hermione gave him a glare. "Really Ronald, people shouldn't be waiting on Harry hand and foot. I'm sure he wants everything to go back to normal, and by giving him everything, that can't really happen. Isn't that right Harry?"

Harry just shrugged again. "I don't really care. It's kind of nice not having to do anything." He looked at Hermione's stern face and changed the subject before she could lecture him.

"What were you two fighting about? I thought you two would be happy now." The death look Hermione shot Ron told Harry that he was wrong.

"I just saw Viktor. He said he came as soon as he heard about the battle and came to help with the cleanup. When I saw him, he gave me a kiss, and Ron didn't appreciate the gesture. It was purely a friendly greeting." Hermione explained. "Now he won't believe anything I say about our relationship!"

Ron scoffed at her remarks. "It looked more than friendly to me. I think he never got over you and wants you back, and I think you wouldn't say no. I'm sorry that I'm upset my girlfriend was kissing someone else!"

Hermione looked as if she was going to attack him. "Really! You think I'm that kind of person! That I would just go away with someone else when I'm in a relationship! It's like you don't know me at all! When you were in the hospital wing, and Lavender wanted to give you a hug, I didn't complain about that, did I? And you two were in a more serious relationship than I ever was with Viktor!"

Ron just looked at Harry for help. Hermione caught the look between them and pounced. "Harry, don't you dare get involved in this! This is between the two of us!"

Ron's face turned a red that matched his brilliant hair. "I want to know what Harry thinks!"

Harry tried to open his mouth, but Hermione beat him two it. "I know you'll just take his side anyways, so just keep your mouth shut!" He gawked at her, fuming at her telling him what to do.

"Don't just assume that I would take his side! I think he's being a little unreasonable about it all!" Harry snapped.

Ron started again. "I don't think I'm being unreasonable about Krum. I don't like him, and I don't want you around him! I forbid you from seeing him!"

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Ron immediately clapped his hand over his mouth, instantly realizing his mistake. Everyone in the Entrance Hall stopped their work to listen.

"How…Dare…You…" Harry could almost hear Hermione crackle with fury. "I never said anything about your relationship with Lavender, or the kiss she gave you when you left her today!" Ron looked like he had been caught doing something bad. "Oh yes I saw that! I also saw the rather pleased smile you had on your face afterwards! I've put up with a lot of your stupid behavior, yet I do one innocent thing, and you freak out!"

Ron's face turned bright red again. "It didn't look very innocent to me! You know as well as I do that he always liked you as more than friends! That kiss made you look like…like… a hussy!"

It was at that moment that Harry knew Ron had crossed a line. He also knew that it was going to be the last straw for Hermione. He backed up so that he wouldn't be in the line of fire when Hermione started attacking Ron.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME LIKE THAT!" she screamed.

Everyone in the surrounding area was now staring at the group, wondering what was going on. People were peaking out the doors of the Great Hall trying to find the source of the yelling.

"Hermione…" Harry whispered, all his anger at Hermione evaporating. "Calm down. We should go talk about this somewhere else. You don't need everyone to hear this."

At this, Hermione whirled around to Harry. "Are you trying to protect him from me embarrassing him? Because humiliation may do him some good!"

"No… I just think that you yelling at him in front of everyone is going to solve anything. Maybe if you calm down, you and Ron can go talk about it and work it out? Ron, maybe an apology would be nice…?"

Ron just looked at him as if he was crazy. "I am not apologizing for this! It was inappropriate for her to kiss him, especially now that we're dating!"

Hermione gave an enormous snort. "We've been dating for all of five minutes! And if we're going to date, than you need to get used to me doing some things that you may not always agree with. I'm going to have male friends, so if you don't like it, then that's just too bad! Are you going to freak out about me being friends with Harry now!"

"I let the whole thing between the two of you during the past year slide. I saw the looks between the two of you the whole time we were on the run. I knew there was something going on between you two the whole time, even though you tried to tell me otherwise. Try to throw me off the trail more like!" Ron shouted.

Harry had tried really hard to not get involved in all of this, but he couldn't take it anymore, especially now that his honour was being called into question.

"There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Hermione! How many times do we have to tell you that before it penetrates your thick skull!"

"No looks were passed between us, Ron," Hermione shrieked. "That's what you saw when you were wearing the horcrux. You were being told that we were more than friends by that piece of soul! I thought we were past this by now. Harry is like a brother to me. If you're so insecure about yourself, that your friends can't hang out without you, then maybe you need to take a look at yourself!"

The three friends were now glaring at each other. Whispers could be heard around the Entrance Hall. Many had heard the trio bicker before, but nothing to this extent. A few people had their mouths open, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"I am not insecure!" Ron stated. "I'm just not sure if the two of you wouldn't be better off together."

"Don't be an idiot!" Harry snarled. "You know I want to be with your sister."

"Yeah, well maybe you're not good enough to be with Ginny. You left her once, who's to say you won't up and do it again!" Ron retorted.

At that, both Harry and Hermione started in on Ron at once.

"That's enough Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You know Harry loves Ginny."

"I stopped dating Ginny to protect her!" Harry said at the same time as Hermione. "Unlike you, who just up and left Hermione and me when you just couldn't take it anymore!"

It was at that point that words seemed to not be enough to express how much anger was coursing through the Trio. Ron lunged at Harry, throwing the first punch.

The two men were suddenly on the ground, pummeling each other. Hermione was dancing around them, tears in her eyes, screaming at the two men to stop their childish behavior. Gasps and screams could be heard around the Hall. People were rushing towards the fight to see what was going on.

The crowd was instantly covered by an enormous shadow. Hagrid was pushing his way through the crowd.

"Whas' goin' on here?" He picked the two boys off the ground, setting them upright and keeping them away from each other with very little effort.

"Wha' do the two of you think yer doin? Yer suppose to be the best o' friends."

Ron was wiping blood from his lips, while Harry was sporting a bloody nose. The two were glowering at each other over Hagrid's enormous hands.

"Just stop it! This is getting ridiculous!" Hermione yelled.

"What's going on here?" a voice rang out. Professor McGonagall emerged through the crowd, planting herself in the centre of the crowd.

"Just a bit o' a scuffle Professor. Nothin' to worry yerself about," Hagrid said.

McGonagall's nostrils flared at the disturbance in her school. "Well that's quite enough! I think you all need to cool off. Spend some time alone from each other. Your emotions are running high. You've all been through quite an ordeal. I think it would be for the best if you all went and got some sleep. But you cannot stay here, squabbling with each other."

With that, the three friends all looked at one another before walking away from each other. They all went a separate way in the castle, not looking to see where the others had gone to. It was at that moment that the Golden Trio was no more.


	2. Aussie Rules!

Hermione sat typing away at her desk. She had a rather lengthy budget report she had to hand in for Monday, and despite it only being Wednesday, she wanted to have it done as soon as possible.

Her life was as normal and quiet as possible. She had managed to become the head research librarian at a university in Australia. She had worked hard over the past thirteen years to move up the ranks. Being in charge gave her a great sense of accomplishment, and she loved being able to run things the way she liked. She felt that being in a library for a living was one of the only places that really made her feel like she belonged.

Her small but comfortable office was blistering hot. The air-conditioning was broken at the moment, and the weather was unseasonably hot. Hermione's sleek hair was pulled back into a ponytail in hopes of keeping her cool, but thus far, nothing was doing the trick.

Her very conservative skirt and blouse were sticking to her body. Curse those stupid caretakers for not trying to fix the ac. As her fingers flew across the keyboard, Hermione's mind started to stray from what she was typing and moved to concentrate on how hot she was.

She was just putting some finishing touches on a bar graph she was creating when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" she shouted without even looking up from her computer.

"The mails here Hannah," a young twenty something grad student named Maria said, peeking her head through the door.

Hermione smiled at her. "Thanks, I'll get it on my way out. Have a good night!"

The grad student nodded and left the door cracked a bit. Hermione tried to get back into her report, but the open door seemed to be telling her she needed to go home. She sighed and pushed her laptop away from her, sinking back into her chair. She looked at the clock. 5:36. Her official work day had ended almost 2 hours ago. Sometimes she just got so wrapped up in work, she lost all track of time.

She saved her work and gathered all of her belongings before locking up her office and collecting her mail. She marched through the rows of books, breathing in the smell of the old, dusty tomes. She really loved her job, and sometimes would rather spend all her time at work than go home.

As the thought crossed her mind, Hermione felt guilty for thinking such thoughts. She loved her family, and she never regretted spending time with them, but there was just something about the library that made her feel disconnected from reality.

Nearly thirteen years had passed since she had left England. The moment she left Hogwarts, she boarded a plane and went to find her parents in Australia. Once she arrived, she had no trouble locating them. She returned their memories, and while helping them pack up to move back to London, Hermione had decided to stay in Australia and finish out her parents lease.

She had enjoyed living on her own and discovering new things about herself. She made some new friends, and she loved to go sit on the beach late at night when no one else was around. The only thing that had interrupted her peaceful vacation was the constant reminder of what she had left behind.

The owls constantly bombarded her during her time away, when all she wanted to do was forget about the horrors of the war and rejuvenate herself enough that she could maybe head back to Hogwarts one day. She was horrified by all the attempts by journalists, politicians and "fans" to bring her home and get her to do all kinds of publicity. She couldn't escape the letters, and even after replying to hundreds, telling them she was no celebrity, she finally decided she would have to sever contact with the magical world if she ever wanted to have a quiet, normal life.

All she had done was help stop a crazed man from taking over the world. She had watched too many people suffer and die for her to take so much credit and get paraded around and showered with gifts. Now that the war was over, she just wanted to move on, and not have that constant reminder. It made her appreciate how uncomfortable Harry had been with his fame.

The letters from her magical family were the hardest to ignore. Some told her they were disappointed that she fled, others just wanted her back. She just wanted some time to grieve those she had lost. They didn't seem to think isolating herself was what she needed. She told them when she was ready she would return. It just turned out that she never really felt ready.

What scared her the most had been the future. The moment she left Hogwarts, she had known that her friendship with Ron and Harry would never be the same. The war had changed them, and she wasn't sure if it was for the better. Hagrid had written to her telling her about Harry and Ron, and in those letters, Hermione had a hard time recognizing her friends.

It scared her so much, that even though she loved them, she knew that they were all very different people after all they had been through. It was only a small reason for her departure, but it was one she regretted the most. Rather than face the changes, she had fled. Sometimes she wondered how she had ever been sorted into Gryffindor. She was scared of what her life was going to bring. Not like anyone else ever had to go through change.

Time had moved quickly after she had broken contact with the wizarding world. Locking away her wand had been one of the hardest things for her to do. She knew though, that if she didn't live a muggle life, than her old life would catch up to her, and she would have to face it. It was just easier to hide. Plus the magic she had done while in Australia had been weak, and she wondered if all the stress of her life had affected her magic.

The first thing she did was create a new identity. She became Hannah Graham, headed off to university, and ran headfirst into her new life, without looking back. While she was studying English literature, she met Todd Nixon, an athletic, business major. They had really hit it off, and after a few months together, they were married. Nine months after that, Hermione had given birth to their daughter Cara.

Her life had been a blur for the two years after leaving England, and as she slid into her car to drive home, she couldn't believe how impulsive she had been. Sometimes she regretted the decisions she had made.

Pulling out onto the boulevard to go home, she felt sad that she regretted some parts of her life. She loved her daughter immensely, and Todd was a good man, but something about her life just never felt right. She loved Todd, but she felt as if there was always something missing in their relationship. She sometimes wondered if she had just settled for the first person to come around.

She hated lying to her family about who she really was, but she knew that she could never tell them. The lies would likely destroy her family. Todd knew that something had driven her out of England, but Hermione refused to speak about it. Some secrets were better left alone.

She drove to her tiny ranch style home, deep in thought over her life and how it may have turned out had she decided to stay. She shook her head.

'This is my life now,' she thought, 'and I have to accept that. I never have to go back to England and face them.'

She pulled into her driveway and threw the car into park. All her reminiscing had depressed her a bit, so she plastered a smile on her face and hauled herself out of the car. She unlocked her front door and was hit with the pleasant aroma of spaghetti. Her mouth watered at the smell, knowing that Todd's famous sauce was awaiting her.

"I'm home!" she called from the hallway as she kicked off her heels.

"In the kitchen!" came the reply. "Dinner's almost ready."

She padded into the kitchen to find Todd with his back to her, stirring one of the many pots on the stove, and Cara absorbed in a book on Ancient Rome.

A love of books wasn't the only thing Cara had inherited from Hermione. A month shy of eleven, she was almost the spitting image of her mother. Her hair was bushy, but a few shades lighter in colour than her mother's, inheriting some of her father's blond hair. Her eyes were more hazel than Hermione's and her teeth were a tad too large. Sometimes it unnerved Hermione how much her and her daughter looked alike, even though she felt Cara was more attractive than she had been at that age.

Her husband turned to her, smiling at Hermione. She had married what she had always imagined a surfer might look like. Todd had shaggy blond hair, ocean blue eyes and a tan she envied. She sometimes wondered how the popular rugby player had ever come to marry the bookworm.

"How was work? I thought you would be home a long time ago."

Hermione sat down at the table and put her feet up on a spare chair. "I was going over the budget stuff. It's due next week."

Todd nodded knowingly, well aware of anything business. He was rising up at his accounting firm rather quickly and taking on more and more responsibilities.

"Well a good supper and some fantastic news might cheer you up," he grinned at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he set a plate of pasta and a glass of wine in front of her. "Good news hmmm? Last time you said that, we were the proud owners of a pot-bellied pig."

Cara laughed. "I liked Chuckles. I still think we should have kept him."

Hermione just shook her head at her daughter. There was no chance she would live with a pig.

She dug into her pasta as Todd sat down. She savoured the delicious flavours, waiting for the big news.

"So? What's the news?"

"I got promoted today. Junior Vice-President. They're going to triple my salary."

Hermione let out a small screech, jumping from her chair and rushing over to give him a hug.

"That's fantastic!" she said as she sat back down. "When does it happen?"

Todd seemed to squirm in his seat a little, as he glanced at his daughter, who had a look of apprehension on her face.

"Well….ummm…it starts in two weeks….andwehavetomove…." he said quietly. He glanced at his wife who was looking rather shocked. Cara looked as if she was waiting for her mother to blow up.

"What! We have to move? Where? I have a job you know!"

Todd looked at her sheepishly. "I know honey. And I told them that, but they said I wouldn't advance here…so I said yes. I'll be making enough that you don't have to work…"

She was infuriated at her husband for making this decision without her. "You're avoiding my question. Where do they want you to go?"

Todd hesitated, breathing in a huge sigh. "London."

Hermione stiffened. Her pulse quickened. She couldn't go back. No way, no how. She had sworn to never go back, and now she was faced with this. Todd had always wanted this opportunity, but she didn't want to leave the safety of her new life.

"Hannah, I really want to do this. I know you left something bad behind in London, but if we go, I can give you and Cara the life I know you deserve. Whatever happened there, I'm sure you can face it. We can do it together."

The pleading look he was giving her almost broke her heart. She hated this. She sat in silence for a long time. She couldn't be selfish. London was a big city, and she wouldn't have to set foot into the magical world while there. She may never even see another magical person. Maybe she could go home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

She grabbed her wine glass and drained it before saying, "When do we leave?"

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Harry's view next chapter. Leave me a review to let me know what you think.


	3. The Lion and the Letter

I want to thank everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed and read. It means a lot.

Keep in mind that though the characters may seem a little different, there is a reason for it. Enjoy!

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The sun was setting as Harry Potter tucked his daughter into bed. It wasn't often that he got to see his children go to bed. Most of the time he was sitting deep in the Ministry finishing up paper work. The time he spent at home was always precious to him.

He carefully shut Lily's door and headed off to the master bedroom, at the end of the hall, where Ginny was found reading the Evening Prophet. He flopped down face first beside her, grunting at the impact.

"Now you know how I've felt for the past twelve years."

Harry turned his smushed face towards his wife. He playfully glared at her. "I'm not tired, I just like the exhausted look."

Ginny looked up from her paper. "Well Mr. Wide Awake, I dare you to stay awake for another full hour. Then we'll see how you feel then!"

Harry shut his eyes. "Maybe I'm more tired than I thought."

"Mmmhmm. Nice try. I know you too well."

"Anything slightly credible in the Prophet tonight?" Harry asked.

Ginny clucked her tongue. "Not really. Just some announcement about some high profile wedding. They don't even say who it is. What's the point of writing about it then?"

Harry grunted. He hadn't put much store in the Prophet for many years. They never seemed to get the real story right.

"What time do you think you'll be home tomorrow? I thought...WHAT!?" Ginny exclaimed, making Harry jump. He pushed himself into a sitting position, suddenly wide awake.

"What happened? What?" Harry sat watching as Ginny's eyes flew across the pages of the paper.

Her mouth hung open as she read. "It's a really short article... I would think this is much bigger news... I'm surprised they haven't owled you about this..."

"WHAT!?" Harry yelled, breaking Ginny's focus. She looked over at him with a furrowed brow.

"Oh, sorry. The article says that Seamus has been missing for a week."

Ginny handed the paper over to Harry. She pointed to a very small article at the bottom of the last page.

'_LONDON MAN MISSING, INFORMATION NEEDED - Last Wednesday evening, local business man, Seamus Finnigan disappeared from his London flat. Sources close to Finnigan say he leaves town regularly for business, but usually informs someone of his whereabouts. A reward is being offered for any relevant information about Mr. Finnigan's disappearance_.'

Harry threw the paper on the bed and groaned. This was bad, especially since he was the Head of the Auror department, and no one had informed him of this. Plus, Seamus was one of his mates. Surely someone at work would have thought he would like to know about this? He knew he had told them to not bother him during his week off, but sometimes he didn't mind an owl or two.

He turned to see Ginny looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

"Does this mean your vacations over? Are you going to have to go in tomorrow?"

He sighed deeply. This wasn't the first odd disappearance to happen in the past month. Dedalus Diggle's disappearance was the first odd thing to happen. No one knew where he had gone to. His case had been given to the Magical Missing Person's Department.

Mrs. Figg's sudden passing had hit Harry especially hard. Sure, she had been getting up there in age, but the last time Harry had seen her, she had showed no signs of slowing down. No one thought that her death was suspicious, so no investigation was opened.

If Seamus' disappearance was at all connected, Harry knew he wouldn't be able to keep his silence on the disappearances of so many people close to him for much longer.

He started to think of all the things he would have to do if one more person disappeared. He would have to talk to the Minister and the other teams in Magical Law Enforcement. He would have to hold a press conference…

At this, Harry could feel his blood pressure start to rise, and his breathing increased. His vision started to tunnel as panic overcame him. Ginny immediately went on high alert, reaching over to rub Harry's back.

"Shhhh, just breathe. Don't think about it. You can always get Ron or Dean to do whatever it is."

Harry's erratic breathing started to slow. He gulped in deep breathes, doing everything to calm down. His vision started to return to normal, and was embarrassed when he saw Ginny's concerned look.

He sat up and shrugged away her hand. He got off the bed and shot into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

God, he hated his panic attacks. He always felt stupid and embarrassed after they occurred, especially when they happened around a large group of people.

After the war, it was like a switch had been flipped. Everyone had wanted to see the Boy-Who-Defeated. There had been engagements and interviews, press conferences, galas and meetings, but Harry couldn't handle the looks and glares the way he used to.

At first he would get angry at anyone who looked at him the wrong way, or approached him for anything. But then the panic attacks started everytime he left the house. He couldn't even reach the front door without them happening. He turned into a recluse at Grimmauld Place, barely eating anything Kreacher prepared and he suffered horribly from insomnia for months.

No one had seen him in months, and though she had tried, Ginny could barely get more than five words from him at a time. She had done everything in her power to try and pull Harry out of his stupor, but nothing seemed to help him. He just kept falling deeper into himself.

Though he would never admit it, the therapist Ginny had hired for him really helped him get out of his head. Lazario Montegaro was a licensed magical psychologist, dealing with deep seated issues that troubled any witch or wizard. At first, Harry had such severe panic attacks at the thought of having to leave the house to attend his sessions, that he locked himself in his room, refusing to see even Ginny. Ginny and Lazario eventually decided sessions at Grimmauld Place might be the best way to start off, especially after Harry had missed ten sessions in a row.

The first session had not gone as planned, with both patient and doctor sitting in silence for an hour, Harry curled up in an anxious ball. After many silent sessions, Harry finally started to slowly open up, once he became accustomed to Montegaro's presence. It just started off with basic conversation starters, like the weather. Once Harry started to talk more, it was like a flood gate had opened, and everything just poured out.

He spent many a session, going over everything that had happened on the battlefield of Hogwarts. Could he have saved more people? If he had just found Voldemort sooner, would Tonks and Lupin be around for Teddy? Would Fred be around to see how large his joke shop had become? Could he have ended everything so much quicker if he hadn't spent a year on the run? Every session was spent with Harry talking, and Lazario listening intently.

After hundreds of sessions, and many outings to try and relieve some of Harry's tension, Lazario and Harry were able to reduce the panic attacks significantly. Harry was able to live a mostly normal life, even if some public situations still sent him over the edge. Lazario had diagnosed Harry with a social anxiety, as well as post traumatic stress disorder. The war had done a number on Harry, and he had withdrawn so much from the world because of everything he had been through. He didn't want to have to get close to anyone else, only to have them brutally ripped away from him.

To this day, Harry still visited Lazario to try and keep his stress under control. He and Ginny would sometimes go together. Her support was something that meant the world to him, and each of his children gave him something to live for.

As he stood staring at his reflection in the mirror, he thought back to how far he had come since the war. He had seen so much in his life, and had so much heartache, he could live with a few moments of panic.

He splashed some water on his face, feeling the last dregs of stress leave his body. He gripped the sink, taking a few more deep breathes, preparing himself to go back to Ginny. He slowly opened the door, to find Ginny once again reading the paper. She peeked over the top of the paper, examining his face.

"Feeling a little bit better?"

He nodded, jumping back on the bed. Ginny put the paper down again, staring down at him with watery eyes.

"I wish there was something I could do to help you when that happens. I feel so helpless."

He faintly smiled at her. "Just you being with me is enough."

Ginny smiled at him. "Well I'm glad I can be of assistance."

Harry closed his eyes as he sank down onto his pillow. He heard the newspaper rustle beside him, and realized that he should write to work and check to see that everything was going okay. He may have some anxiety issues, but he was still the best Auror the Ministry had ever had. He just had to have someone else be the face of the department.

He sat up again, instantly causing Ginny to go into alert mode. "What?! What? Are you ok?"

Harry chuckled and patted her knee. "I'm fine. I'm just going to owl work. I need to make sure that everything's going ok. I don't want to believe that these disappearances and deaths are the work of dark wizards. Mostly I don't want to have to go to work tomorrow," he said with a wink.

Ginny chuckled. "Alright boss man. Don't take too long."

He nodded, stretching as he got off the bed. He went to the hallway and bounded down the stairs. He entered the kitchen, the moon spilling over the counter tops through the large picture window that overlooked the Potter's expansive property.

He went over to a large chest of drawers that stood behind the kitchen table. He opened it a pulled out a quill and parchment, scrawling a short message onto it.

He went over to where his sleeping owl, Archemedes, was perched near the back landing. He softly stoked the tawny owls head. The owl sleepily opened up one of its amber eyes at him. Harry was reminded of Hedwig with a pang, even though the two owls were the complete opposite of each other.

"I have a job for you. I want you to take this to Ron. Wait for an answer."

The owl hooted softly as Harry tied the letter around his leg. He jumped up on the arm Harry offered him, hitching a ride over to the kitchen window. Harry pushed open the window, and Archemedes ruffled his wings, pushing down on Harry's arm as he took flight.

Harry sighed as he watched his owl soar into the moon. He hated lying to Ginny, but he was well aware that the disappearances and Mrs. Figgs death were the work of Dark wizards. Even though there was no official proof, and the cases were being handled by other departments, Harry had all the proof he needed that this was the work of someone dark.

He pulled out the piece of paper he was sent three days previously. He had carried with him everywhere he went, looking at it every chance he got. He unfolded the slightly crumpled piece of paper, and read for what must have been the hundredth time, the all capital words screaming at him, 'WE KNOW WHERE SHE IS. DO YOU?'

Below the words, was a small photograph. Though he had not seen her in thirteen years, he knew that he needed to find Hermione Granger before anyone else did.

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Next Chapter- Ron


	4. Rooting for the Underdog

Thanks to every one who has been reading! I appreciate your support. On with the show!

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Ron Weasley was snoring loudly, sound asleep, not expecting any disruptions. It made it all the more alarming when a shadowy creature swooped into his open bedroom window, landing on top of his head, and pecking him awake.

"Ouch! Ow! Get off me you stupid bird!"

He thrashed around wildly, flailing his arms about, as the owl tittered above him, flying just out of arms reach. Ron sat up, clambering for his side lamp. When he finally found the switch, he flipped it on, flooding the room with yellow light.

He looked up to see Ginny and Harry's owl flying in circles above his bed. He rubbed his face where the owl had pecked him, glaring up at the bird.

"What the hell Archie!? You couldn't have woken me up nicely?"

The owl just hooted happily in response. Ron scoffed.

"Well get down here if whatever you have is that important! I hope you didn't wake me for no reason!"

The owl dutifully fluttered down from the ceiling, landing on Ron's bent knee. He thrust his leg out, allowing Ron to untie the letter that was attached. Once the note was free, Archie hopped over to bed post, where he buried his head in his wing while he waited for Ron's response.

As Ron unfurled the letter, he wondered what Harry and Ginny could possibly want. He looked at his bedside clock and groaned. It was quarter to three. He had to get up for work soon. I guess I won't be sleeping for those extra 15 minutes, he thought. He knew that it had to be Harry writing, because only he would know what time he would get up for work, and how long it took for Archemedes to get to his apartment. He probably sent the owl at that precise moment just to wake him early.

Grumbling about having to get up, he read the letter, unsurprised by what he found there.

_Get Seamus' file on my desk by 5_

Ron groaned. He had a date with his girlfriend Pandora at 5, and if he was correct in his thinking, there was a lot of paperwork he was going to have to do today. He would probably have to cancel with Pandora. She is not going to be happy about that, Ron thought miserably.

He grabbed a quill from his bedside drawer, scrawling, _Fine_, across the bottom of Harry's note. He crawled over to the foot of the bed, tying the note back onto Archemedes' leg. The owl nipped Ron's finger a little too hard, splitting Ron's finger. Ron swore at the owl, who was already flying out the window before Ron could cause him too much damage.

Ron stretched as he sat on the edge of his bed. There was no point in staying in bed. He now had way too much work to do today and the sooner he started it, the better his chances of actually making it out of the office at a decent time. He shuffled over to his master bath, fumbling with the shower knobs until he got it nice and hot. He jumped under the steaming water, relishing the burn on his skin. He picked up his shampoo, getting a good lather going. As he scrubbed his hair, his thoughts drifted to Harry and his stupid letter. There were a dozen other Aurors who could do the paperwork on Seamus Finnegan, but no, Ron, despite having patrol today, was the one who had to do the work.

Harry's incessant need to prove himself as the best Auror drove Ron bonkers, but he had to smile and do as his boss told him. Because that's all they were. Worker and Supervisor. Nothing more.

As Ron flipped the top off of his body wash, he reflected on the past thirteen years. He had no regrets. After he and his friends had parted ways, Ron's life seemed to become better than it ever had been.

With Hermione gone, and Harry hermitted away somewhere, Ron was the only one of the now famous Golden Trio who seemed to be around to give interviews or accept awards. He had spent a full year travelling around England, speaking with victims and families of those affected by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, cutting ribbons for memorials and giving interviews to authors who were looking to write books about the epic battle.

Sure, everyone wanted to hear all three sides of the story, but Hermione and Harry weren't there to explain, so Ron did the best he could. He became a bit of a celebrity, and though it seemed a little odd to him, given the nature of his fame, the endorsement deals came flooding in. He had been able to make a hefty amount off of those.

When the endorsements had faded away, and the interviewers stopped coming round, Ron had to find another way to spend his time. When they were still in school, he had thought he wanted to be an Auror because that's what Harry had wanted to do and the two of them could do it together. He realized in his year off though, that fighting Dark wizards did a lot of good. He had broken free of having the role of sidekick, and made the decision based on what he wanted, and not what his friend had wanted to do.

While completing his Auror training, Ron spent a lot of time working with George at the joke shop, helping him create new products and scouting out new locations that they could expand to. He wasn't nearly as good at it as Fred had been, but George had appreciated the help regardless.

He had graduated with Honours, and despite being a rookie Auror, the department head Jack MacIntosh, had sent him on international patrols, in hopes he could assist them in rounding up the last of the Death Eaters. While roaming around the world, Ron managed to collect all kinds of weird and wonderful objects for the joke shop, and even helped with the opening of a few international locations of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

George officially made him a partner after the first franchise in Australia was opened, and Ron spent most his time abroad splitting his weeks between catching bad guys and running any of the twelve WWW locations.

He had loved his jobs. The things he had seen and the people he had met had been the best part of his nine years away. However, his time abroad was cut short when he was given the news that Harry Potter had been promoted to Head Auror. Ron had been furious. Sure, Harry was a really good Auror, despite starting the year after Ron, and had captured more Dark wizards in eight years than Ron had in nearly ten. But Harry had no social skills anymore, and could barely look at people he had known for years, let alone run a whole department!

Ron had gone to Kingsley, grieving the hiring of Harry, but Kingsley had just told him that Harry had been the best candidate. He had told him that Harry had come a long way since Ron had been gone, and that Ron should just try and be civil to his new boss.

It hadn't taken long for civility to go right out the window. At Harry's promotion party, Ron may have drowned his sorrows a bit too much that night. No one there would ever forget the shouting match the two ex-friends got into that night.

Despite not seeing each other for eleven years, fate causing Ron to always be away for family gatherings, neither had forgotten the others role in breaking up their friendship. The yelling match between the two of them had become the thing of legend, and had ended much like the last conversation they had had.

The fists had flown that night, but not before some rather hurtful words had been thrown. Ron had been very offended by the vapid celebrity jokes Harry had hurled at him, but it was the offensive names Ron had called Harry, mocking his reclusive behavior, that had tipped the scales.

Before he knew it, Ron was being hauled off of every international case he had been working on and given mountains of backed up paperwork. He had been given the worst times for foot patrols around some hot spots known for trouble, and had to write a formal letter of apology. He had been stuck there for the past two years, and he was well aware of why he was stuck there. Not that he was bitter. He had felt better though, once he had heard that Harry had been dressed down severely by Kingsley and given a week suspension without pay. Even the boss couldn't avoid punishment.

Even though he wasn't super happy to be back in London, doing what was basically a desk job, he managed to live very comfortably off his Auror salary, profits from the shop and his old endorsement money. Most of his time was spent in his London penthouse, but if he could swing some time off, he sometimes ran off to his secret cottage.

Breaking out of his reverie, Ron looked down to find his skin had gone red and blotchy from his shower, signaling it was time to leave. As he toweled off, he was secretly glad he wasn't on the road all the time anymore. He had no time to have a real relationship when he was away, and when he had met Pandora a year ago, he felt like he could finally settle down.

Panda, as her friends called her, was a writer for Witch Weekly, and a real looker. Ron sometimes wondered why she fell for him. He was just glad to have someone he really cared for around. His family hadn't liked her rather abrasive personality at first, but she had grown on them somewhat.

Ron walked into his enormous walk-in closet, sifting through the many work robes that lay on a heap on the floor. Apparently it was time to do laundry, as he kicked a robe into his hands. He pulled a light jumper and jeans off of a shelf. Sometimes patrol was a good thing, especially when you could wear your own clothes. He dressed quickly, before glancing in the mirror.

"Well? How do I look?"

The mirror giggled. In a chirpy voice, "Never seen anyone like you!"

Ron just scowled at the mirror.

He padded down the hallway into his kitchen where he grabbed an apple out of a bowl. He looked out one of his many floor-to-ceiling windows at the still dark and quiet city. He really hated going to work before the sun got up, he thought, before disapparating.

/

As Ron emerged from the fireplaces at the ministry, he looked around the dark Atrium. The only light around was being cast from the golden fountain in the middle. He liked the Ministry the best when no one was around.

His footsteps echoed in the vast hall as he quickly made his way over to the lifts. He got on to the elevators and listened to them clank. When they opened up, he walked into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and headed over towards his cubicle. He was distracted however by a buzzing coming from inside one of the meeting rooms.

He walked over to the room and reached out to grab the door knob. He opened the door, revealing a small gathering of Aurors. It appeared that the night shift had been having some kind of late night meeting. The night shift supervisor, John Dawlish was sitting at the head of the round table, projecting some images onto a screen opposite him. Rookie Auror Johnny Lynch was twirling a quill, while Adrianne Scott was across from Dean Thomas, who was sitting facing Ron.

Ron looked at Dean. "What's going on in here? Looks like a good time," he jokingly said. Dean just frowned at him.

"There's been another disappearance."

Ron just stood there. Who could it have been this time? He was almost afraid to ask. It seemed like there were so many weird things happening this month.

"Who is it now?"

"Susan Bones. Her husband said she never made it home from visiting some friends," John spoke up. "I think it might be time we consider these cases connected."

Ron sat down and joined in on the already in progress meeting. It seemed that his already busy day had just gotten a little more so.

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Next Chapter, Hermione moves back to England.


	5. Magic Strikes Back

This was actually a super long chapter, so its been cut in half. The second half will be put up soon! Thanks so much to everyone who has been reading, reviewing following and favoriting. I really love to hear what you have to say. Enjoy this chapter!

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Hermione stood in a large sitting room, surrounded by many cardboard boxes. She was overwhelmed by everything she had to do, and she had only been back in London for a week. The house that Todd's company had provided them was on the outskirts of the city, but still close enough that it didn't take very long to get to the heart of the city. The house was abnormally roomy, with three bedrooms, a rather spacious sitting area and study, a very generous kitchen, and two and a half bathrooms. It sort of reminded Hermione of the house she grew up in.

She slumped onto the plastic-covered couch that had been delivered yesterday, pulling the closest box towards her. She started to pull out newspaper wrapped plates and bowls, stacking them up as she went. Might as well get the kitchen organized first, she thought.

They had been staying at Hermione's parents home since they had arrived. They were still waiting for their bedroom furniture to be delivered, and her parents had been delighted to have them stay. Hermione had been very impressed with the generous amount of money Todd's company had given him to furnish their home and had gone a little crazy when shopping. They had had to leave most of their belongings back in Australia, but Hermione was happy to leave them behind when she had seen the check for furniture. Many of the pieces they had purchased in the past few days were much nicer than anything they had owned back home.

Cara had been enthused to be in the bustling city. The move hadn't been as traumatizing on her as Hermione had thought it would be. She had never spent so much time with her grandparents, and never having visited London, they happily took her to all the big tourist spots, indulging their grand-daughter's every wish. Today, they were taking her and Todd to the Tower of London, giving Hermione time to try and unpack the house a bit. She hoped to be mostly done by the weekend, as Cara's eleventh birthday was on Saturday. It only gave her two days, but with the beds arriving sometime that day, Hermione felt they could settle down that night if they wanted.

Hermione slowly moved between the boxes, unpacking everything and putting them in their rightful places. When the kitchen was completely put away, she stood back to admire her handy work, before remembering that she had several other rooms she had to put together. She headed back to the sitting room, ready to tackle more boxes. She shifted some stacked boxes, looking for ones labeled 'master bedroom'. She moved one box to the floor, uncovering the trunk that was hidden beneath it. Her breath caught in her chest. It had been many years since she had set eyes on it.

She knelt down beside it, wiping the dust from the top. The leather looked as good as ever, a heavy padlock swinging from the lock. She had wanted to make sure no one could get into her old school things, so before she had shut her wand and other belongings in, she had charmed it so no one but herself could get into it. She had locked it up, and had taken to wearing the key around her neck as a beautiful 'antique' key necklace.

She had found Cara trying to open it more than once, intrigued by the ancient looking trunk. Hermione had always told her that she kept presents for Cara's wedding in that box, and only when she got married could she have them. Cara speculated that there were beautiful jewels that would one day be hers, and Hermione was not going to tell her she was wrong.

Being back in London hadn't been as awful as Hermione had thought it would be, but she was certainly not going to open that trunk. She knew if she started to use magic again, someone from the ministry would come to see who was doing unregistered magic. She just wanted to be left alone, and go about her life as usual.

She shoved the trunk in the corner, with all the other boxes that were to be put up in the attic for storage, not giving it a second glance for the rest of the day.

\/

By Thursday evening, the house had been made comfortable, and moving their suitcases out Hermione's parent's house, the family settled into their home late that night. Even though it was the beginning of August, Cara had insisted on seeing where her school was located, so the family was taking a trip into the city to visit the school the next morning. Cara was so excited, she was having a hard time going to sleep.

"I hope the library is big. My other school's wasn't sufficient at all! And I hope I get to wear those awesome uniforms. I don't know why my old school didn't have uniforms…." she said to her exhausted mother.

"That's very nice dear, but if you don't let me go to sleep, no one will be seeing the outside of this house tomorrow." Cara immediately stopped talking. There was no way she wasn't going to see her school.

Hermione crawled into bed beside an already snoring Todd, blissfully unaware that tomorrow would be anything but a normal day.

The next morning, Hermione woke up to the fire alarm ringing. She pulled on her robe, and upon seeing Todd was gone, hurtled into Cara's empty room. She flew down the stairs to see a very sheepish Cara standing beside the smoking remains of what may have once been toast. Todd was waving a towel in front of the alarm, trying to dissipate some of the smoke.

"Sorry Mum. I wanted to make everyone breakfast. I thought we could get an early start."

Hermione glared at a silently laughing Todd. "That was very thoughtful of you. Next time, don't set the toaster on high without watching it." Now that she was wide awake, Hermione excused herself for a shower, leaving her family to try and make breakfast without burning the house down.

She showered quickly, spending most of the time afterwards straightening her hair. After moving to Australia, she had put a very small glamour charm on her appearance, changing her face shape and complexion. Her hair was something that she still had to do manually, but those small changes made it difficult to distinguish her real appearance, unless someone was staring at her extremely closely.

She dressed in a floaty skirt and t-shirt, and headed down stairs. She stepped into her quiet kitchen to find a small man dressed in a horrible pair of lime green pants, paired with a sparkly woman's halter top. The image would have made her laugh if she wasn't so shocked to find a stranger at her table. Cara and Todd were seated across from the man, a look of revulsion on both of their faces.

This man's presence was so unexpected, that in her shock, Hermione hadn't registered what the man really was until she saw a heavy parchment letter sitting upon her kitchen table. Her blood ran icy when she spotted it, remembering a very similar event, days before she herself had turned eleven. She was rooted to the spot, praying that this man was just some freaky encyclopedia salesman Todd had let in as a joke.

When she looked between her family and the pleasantly smiling stranger, she knew it wasn't a joke. She wanted to run and hide. Maybe no one had seen her come down stairs and she would be able to go back to bed and wake up to realize this was all a dream. Coming back to England was a mistake. Her perfectly safe, comfortable world was about to crash down around her. It was unfortunate that the man _had_ spotted her.

"Ahhh, you must be the mother! Excellent, Excellent! Shall we begin?" the little man said, standing up from his chair, ushering Hermione into her own kitchen. "Well, Mrs. Nixon, I was just telling your husband and daughter that I am here representing a school for gifted children. There is a school similar to ours by your old home, but they don't inform children of their acceptance until they turn twelve. When they found you had moved, they contacted us to let us know you were coming. We can't let any child pass us by!"

Hermione wanted to run screaming from the room. The little man was grinning at the three Nixon's that sat across from him as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

"I shall re-introduce myself. I am Tobias Twynkle. I am a professor at a school called Hogwarts," pausing to tap the letter on the table, than picking it up to hand over to Cara. Hermione cringed at the seal on the back of the letter. Todd made a funny noise in his throat, almost as if he wasn't sure if Cara should be taking an envelope from a stranger.

"Everything is explained in that letter. Go ahead and give it a look, then I'll be happy to answer any questions you or your parents may have." He gave Todd and Hermione a broad smile before sitting back in his chair, trying to give them some comfort. But neither was comforted in the least. Cara's eyes flew across the parchment as she absorbed all the letters on the page. When she was done, she thrust it over to her father, who gingerly took it, reading it as if it was dirty. Cara fixed a skeptical look on Tobias, crossing her arms.

"This must be a joke. There is no such thing as magic."

Tobias just chuckled. "Ahhh, but there is magic my dear! You just haven't been looking for it properly!" Todd passed the letter to Hermione, who looked down at the paper, hoping her daughter was right, and this was all a joke. As she read over the familiar letter, she saw the very official signature of Minerva McGonagall, along with the full list of supplies, and ticket onto the Hogwarts Express. She thrust the papers from her, feeling faint. This was dreadful.

Tobias looked at her sympathetically, leaving a frowning Cara to mull over what he had just said. He nodded knowingly. "It is a little much to take in, isn't it my dear? Don't worry! I'm here to help you understand everything. But first, I think a spot of tea would be nice."

He ducked under the table, pulling a wand from his shoe, waving it over the table. A steaming pot of tea and cookies appeared on the table. Cara's mouth fell wide open. Todd looked positively ill, and Hermione felt the way he looked. She had prayed that this day would never come, and now that it had, she was poorly equipped to handle it.

"How did you do that? You just pulled that set from thin air! That's not even possible!" Cara was trying to reason her way out of what she had just seen, but she was obviously impressed by what Tobias Twynkle had just shown her. He beamed at her, his eyes dancing.

"My dear, Hogwarts will show you how to do those kinds of things and so much more! I happen to be the Astronomy teacher, and don't have much use for wands, but that is a whole other fascinating story in itself." With that he flicked his wand, shutting the blinds. He flicked it again, creating a replica of the night sky on the ceiling. Cara was entranced by the scene, gazing up above her. Hermione looked over at her husband, only to find him also gazing upwards, a strange look on his face. Tobias waved his wand, returning everything to normal. He gazed at Hermione and Todd.

"So! I know that this is a lot to take in, but I hope I've convinced you that there is magic, your daughter is magical, and she is very welcome at Hogwarts! It really is wonderful there, and it is a perfectly safe environment for your child." Hermione repressed a snort at that remark.

"There is a list of supplies in the back of the letter. I am free to escort you to Diagon Alley, a wizard shopping area, where you can pick up all your supplies. I wonder if you have any questions for me. Surely you must have some?"

Hermione didn't have any, as she knew fully what Hogwarts had to offer. She thought back to the questions her parents asked when she first went.

"Where is this school?"

Tobias nodded. "Perfectly valid question. I'm afraid I can't tell you the precise location, but it is in Scotland. We do have ways of communicating with parents, so if something should happen, you will be informed immediately."

"How do I know I'm not sending my daughter away to be taken hostage or something? You're asking us to give you an awful lot of trust," Todd exclaimed.

Tobias nodded once again. "I understand your concern my good man! If I wasn't magical hearing my child was magical, I would probably react the same! I am hoping however, that my magic display and your visit to Diagon Alley will give you more proof of our existence. I do suppose you have to trust us though."

Todd looked sideways to Hermione, who gave him a weak smile. She knew Hogwarts was an excellent school, and that Cara deserved to go if that was what she wanted.

"Do I get to wear a uniform?" Cara said, as if that small fact would decide if she went.

Tobias chuckled. "Of course! You wear robes with your house colours on them! Your house is like your family away from home."

Cara looked impressed. She looked over at her parents, smiling at them. "What do you guys think?"

Todd looked at the professor. "Do you think you could just leave us alone for a moment? We need to discuss this."

"Of course! Of course! This is all so shocking. I'll just be round the corner when you're ready." With that he disappeared into the living room, leaving Hermione and Todd with their daughter. Todd turned to Cara, looking at her very seriously.

"This is up to you. I'm having a rather hard time wrapping my head around it all, but I believe him. I'm just not sure about you going to a place we've never heard of. I don't know if I really want you to go." Hermione was glad Todd was taking the lead on this. If she had her way, no one in her family would be stepping foot into the magical world. Ever.

Cara looked at her parents. She appeared to be thinking very hard. "I think I want to go," she said slowly. "I've always felt like there was something different about me. I never seemed to fit in with the other kids. Maybe this is why…I think this could be like an adventure. I don't think that man was joking either. No one can make things appear like that!"

Hermione wished it wasn't real. Everything she had been hiding from for thirteen years was slowly creeping back into her life. But now that Cara was aware of another world she belonged to, Hermione knew she would never forgive them if she wasn't allowed to go. Todd looked at her, trying to gage her temperature on the situation.

"Hannah? What do you think? Can this place be for real?"

Hermione nodded. Lying through her teeth, she said "I think it must be. I'm not so sure I want Cara to leave us, either, but if this is what you want sweetheart, I'm not going to stop you."

Cara's face lit up. She jumped on her parents, crushing them into a hug. For only having just heard of this moments ago, she was very excited to go. As much as Hermione wanted nothing to do with the world she had left behind, she saw that it would be cruel to not allow Cara many of the experiences she had treasured in the few years she had been a witch.

She was coming to the realization that this was not a joke, and she would be facing the magical world for the first time in thirteen years. When Cara pulled away, Hermione glanced over at Todd, who seemed to be looking at Cara with sadness, but it was quickly replaced the next moment. Tobias popped his head in the doorway, a huge smile on his face.

"Did I hear you were willing to come with me? Excellent, Excellent! I must say you people believed much faster than some of the other parents I've spoken to. I had one throw a vase at my head! Luckily she had a terrible arm, but I digress! We should head off I think!"

Cara bounced after him, asking him an abundance of questions. Hermione smiled at her daughter's chatter, only to find Todd looking at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," he quickly said. "Shall we go?"

She nodded, grabbing the car keys off the counter.

/

Todd had weaved through the streets of London, searching for what Hermione knew was the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. She knew when she saw it she would have to pretend that she actually couldn't, as she was supposed to be a muggle. As they drove, Cara had asked Tobias many questions about Hogwarts and magic, while Hermione eavesdropped. He had asked her if she had ever done anything she couldn't explain, and she had mulled over every time something odd had happened to her.

As Hermione listened, she too thought back to the times when she had been scared Cara was showing signs of magic. Once, Cara had been upset after not being allowed ice cream for lunch. Hermione had been furious when Cara had thrown her yogurt into Hermione's face, and had sent her to her bedroom. She had thought at the time that the flickering lights throughout the house was just pent up magic releasing itself through Hermione's anger. She wasn't sure what happened when witches and wizards never used their magic, but she assumed it was similar to what magical children did before they were trained.

Imagine her surprise when she had gone into Cara's room, to find a flashlight zooming round the ceiling, Cara screaming on the floor. Hermione had been frightened, that at three, Cara was already exhibiting magical abilities, but she had simply chalked the flashlight and flickering lights to her own anger. She wasn't going to believe Cara was magical. She felt ignorance was the best solution.

Various other events had occurred throughout the years, like the mysteriously broken vase Cara was too small to reach, or the fact the hamster Cara had, was once found a strange shade of purple. Hermione chose to think of them as either odd coincidences or due to her pent up magic. It had always niggled away at the back of her mind that Cara was magical, but Hermione refused to deal with the facts that were plainly in front of her.

As they drove through the crowded streets, Hermione reflected on her own journey into the magical world for the first time. She had been so excited when her parents had brought her into London to buy her all her supplies. She had been about as excited as Cara appeared to be. Todd on the other hand, was driving white knuckled, almost as if hoping to bend the steering wheel.

"Ahhh! There it is!" yelled an excited Tobias. "Pull over here, my good man, and we shall enter into a world of magic!"

Sure enough, Hermione saw the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron sitting quietly amongst the bustling street, no one paying it any mind. Cara and Tobias were out of the car the moment it stopped. When Hermione emerged from the car, she pretended to have no idea where the pub was, looking everywhere but at the door. Todd came around the car, standing beside his family.

"Do you see it?! Isn't it cool?" Cara exclaimed.

Tobias gave her a sympathetic smile. "My dear, they aren't magical, so we will have to lead the way. Onwards!" he shouted, pointing like a demented drill sergeant. The small group filed in, single file through the pub's door, held open by a beaming Tobias.

As soon as Hermione entered the bar, Cara was dragging her towards the door that would lead them to Diagon Alley. "Tobias told me how to get to the entrance when we were driving here! Come on let's go!"

She had barely had time to look around the Leaky Cauldron before being pushed towards another door. She caught a glimpse of Tom, the aging bartender, and someone who looked suspiciously like a more mature Hannah Abbott, but couldn't tell because Cara was pulling her along. Tobias and Todd followed, Tobias quickly stepping to the front to open up the passage. He tapped the brick, and as they waited for the grinding of the brick wall to cease, Hermione could feel Cara trembling with anticipation.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Tobias said with a flourish of his arms. Cara let out a gasp. Hermione's gut lurched. She finally got the reaction she thought she would have gotten if she had been allowed to look at the pub. She was immediately hit by a rush of memories. The smell of the Alley was what hit her first. She could smell the waffle cones being made at the newly restored Fortescue's ice cream shop, and the book ink wafting out of the open door of Flourish and Blott's. The sound of hooting owls floated from the Magical Menagerie, and Hermione thought of Crookshanks. She looked down the alley, and saw a familiar trio walking towards Gringotts, only to have them disappear a second later. After thirteen years of absence, Hermione felt as if she was coming home again, no matter how much she tried to fight it.

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Thanks for reading!


	6. Hello Again

Here is what should be read as a continuation of chapter 5. I hope you enjoy!

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It was all too much for Hermione to take in at once. After thirteen years, she hadn't realized how much she really had missed it here, no matter what she told herself. She broke from her remembrances to find Tobias pointing out the various stores to a bouncing Cara, while Todd looked at the people around him curiously.

"Well, I think we should head off to Gringotts, that's the wizard bank. We need to exchange your money," Tobias suggested, pointing towards the snowy building at the end of the street. He started to walk towards the bank, when Hermione shouted "No!" before she even realized it. She was surprised to hear Todd's voice shouting at the little man in unison with her. Tobias froze, turning slowly to face them, a look of confusion on his face. Cara was looking at her parents as if they had both grown an extra head, while a few people on the street beside them passed snickering.

"I'm sorry? You don't want to go to the bank? We really need to go there first if you plan on buying anything," stated a very flabbergasted Tobias.

Hermione and Todd both started talking at the same time.

"I think you and Todd should take Cara to look around…she really is excited…."

"…am a money-man you know, so I think I should deal with the bank…"

"…don't need you to take me there, I'll find you later…"

"…fascinating to see a new banking experience…"

Tobias looked thoroughly confused by the barrage of words coming at him. He managed to collect himself, throwing up a hand, instantly silencing the two.

"Please. I am here as your guide to this world. I will happily take you to the bank. The goblins can be rather unpleasant to deal with, so I think it best that I come with you."

Todd opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione broke in front of him. "We really appreciate your help sir. But I really think you should take Cara around. You know it best, and banking can be rather boring. Let me go to the bank. Give Todd a break from his job." She flashed a winning smile at Tobias, just for good measure.

He looked at her skeptically. "I really don't think it's a good idea…"

Hermione forced a laugh, trying to sound cheery and ignorant. "I'm sure it will be fine. I work with various kinds of people. You take these two somewhere fun, and I'll meet you here in half an hour.

Tobias looked distressed at Hermione's wish to go to the bank alone. Todd looked angry. Hermione assumed he didn't like being told he couldn't deal with something. She spun around, quickly walking away, hoping to leave before Tobias forced his presence upon her. As she retreated, she heard him try to protest her leaving. She sped up even more to try and get away.

As she fell amongst the ever-growing crowd, she kept her face down. Her glamour charms were powerful, protecting her all these years and disguising her real identity, but if examined too closely, someone could determine her identity. When she finally reached the snowy white steps of Gringotts, she looked up to find several goblins standing guard at heavily re-enforced gold doors. She inwardly smirked. They had obviously stepped up security since the last time she had seen those doors smashed open.

A goblin opened the door for her, allowing her to step into the splendid bank. It was busy with wizards and witches exchanging funds with the nastily aggressive goblins. She approached a small, elderly looking goblin at the farthest counter to her right. He leered at her as she approached.

"Yes?"

She swallowed with difficulty. She never thought she would utter these words again. "I need to enter my vault."

The goblin smiled nastily at her nerves. "And do you have a key?" he sneered.

She reached around to the back of her neck, unclasping her necklace. The key that opened her old school trunk had also been charmed to open the vault the goblins had created for her shortly after her absence. She had received thousands of galleons in thanks for her role in the war, and as she had never opened a vault during school (her parents had always just given her money), a vault was made. As she was not in England at the time, the goblins had sent her a key, which she had transfigured to be multi-purpose. She didn't want too many questionable keys lying around.

She slammed the key onto the counter. The goblin appeared unfazed. "Name?" Butetrflies filled Hermione's stomach as she leaned over the counter, whispering to the goblin.

"Hermione Granger."

The goblin's eyes grew wide. He hadn't heard that name in a very long time. Not that it was a very popular one around the bank. He picked up the key, examining it with his long fingers. He looked from the key to Hermione several times before waving another goblin towards him. He handed the key to the other goblin.

"Could you please take this woman to vault 973?"

Hermione sighed out of relief the goblin hadn't uttered her real name. As she turned to leave, the goblin at the counter grabbed her hand. "It is a pleasure to have you back with our service. It would be wise for you to be careful with your appearances."

Hermione gave his a curious look, but before she could ask what he meant, he was shouting "Next!" and another wizard had already taken her place.

She turned to the waiting goblin, who held up a lantern. "Right this way please," he said, bustling her off to the underbelly of the bank.

/\/\/\/\/

When she emerged from the bank several long and harrowing minutes later, she squinted at the bright light that met her exit. She checked her watch. It was time to meet up with her family. She made her way through the crowd, finding her family standing in the exact spot she had left them. Cara was slurping away at a slowly melting ice cream, a sulky looking Todd listening to a babbling Tobias.

When Cara saw her mother, her eyes lit up, rushing forwards, greeting her with a deluge of excitement.

"Mum! I saw all kinds of weird ingredients and one shop! And they have flying brooms!" She dropped her voice low. "There's also a really beautiful owl. Tobias said a lot of students have them to communicate. I thought you could get it for me for my birthday." In all the excitement of the day, she had forgotten Cara's birthday was tomorrow.

She smiled down at her daughter. "We'll have to wait and see." Cara nodded. She was not the kind of child who whined when not getting her way. She was very patient, knowing that being an only child meant she would most likely get what she wanted without whining.

Tobias had stopped talking to Todd, and was looking at Hermione with a very concerned look. "Did you manage to get any gold? (looking about her person as if she should have money spilling from her pockets.) Were the goblins decent to you?"

Hermione smiled at him, lifting a small bag out of her purse. His features relaxed greatly. "I'm so pleased you managed! I was rather worried. In the meantime I purchased Cara an ice cream. A birthday present if you will." Hermione thanked him for his gesture.

"Well I think we should go shopping now," Tobias announced. "I think the time for a wand has come, don't you my dear?" looking down at Cara.

She beamed up at him, setting off with down the street towards Ollivanders. Hermione made to follow him, but was stopped by Todd.

"Hannah, we need to talk. I'm not so sure about all of this. I think it was a mistake. Let's go home. Take Cara to her regular school."

Hermione looked at Todd with great concern. He seemed to be rather twitchy all of a sudden, barely glancing at her as he talked, watching the people as they passed them. He was certainly acting strange today.

She carefully removed his hand from her arm. "I think everything will be fine Todd," she said a little angrily. He never seemed to want to do anything that was too far outside of his comfort zone. She knew about this world, and though it could be dangerous, there was no reason Cara wouldn't be fine.

"I don't think its fine, and I really want to leave! This is nonsense, and I want to go home!" Todd said, his voice starting to gain volume.

"Fine!" Hermione hissed, "Go home! But I'm staying here, with our daughter, who is happy. If you don't want to believe in this obviously present world, then just go!"

She stormed off towards an awaiting Cara and Tobias, leaving a seething Todd in the street. As she entered the shop, she saw Todd turn and walk up the Alley. Maybe he would come back a little happier.

The bell on the door rang as the trio stepped in the dark shop. Cara gasped as she examined the wand filled walls.

"Can I help you?"

A very wizened Ollivander came from out of the back shadows. Hermione was shocked by how old he seemed to have gotten. He hobbled from the back, but was not alone. A handsome young wizard, with sparkling hazel eyes and dark blonde hair flecked with red emerged with a smile. Upon seeing who was there, Ollivander moved forward to embrace Tobias' hand.

"Tobias Twynkle, unicorn hair, oak, twelve and a half inches."

Tobias chuckled. "It's always so nice to see you too Mr. Ollivander. I brought a new customer for you! This is Cara Nixon and her mother, Hannah."

Mr. Ollivander reached out a gnarled hand, grasping Hermione's. As he held her hand, he looked up into her face. She quickly pulled away. Maybe her glamour charms weren't as good as she thought. He stood before her, gazing at her face for a little too long, examining her very closely. She looked anywhere but at him, hoping he wouldn't recognize her. When she looked back, he was looking over at Cara, allowing her to believe he didn't recognize her.

"This is my grandson Haydyn. He is my apprentice, and he will be performing the measurements. I will go to the back to find something suitable for you." He looked over to Hermione. "I wonder if you could assist me in carrying some wands. I'm not as young as I used to be."

She nodded, following him to the back, leaving a giggling Cara to be measured by the magical tape rope. Ollivander shuffled in front of her, suddenly stopping and pulling out wands. He placed one in her arms, stopping to look up at her again.

"Do we know each other?" the old man asked her very casually. She decided to play it cool.

"I don't see how we could have. I'm not magical. Maybe on a street sometime, but I haven't lived in London for a very long time."

He smiled up at her. "Are you sure you're not magical? I feel that there is something different about you. Are you quite sure we haven't met? My eyes aren't as good as they used to be, but I'm usually very good with faces…."

Hermione hoped her pounding heart wouldn't give her away.

"No. We don't know each other."

He looked at her, obviously not believing her. He sighed and turned back to the wall, continuing to pile wands into Hermione's arms.

The silence was interrupted by Haydyn's appearance. "Grandfather, all the measurements are done."

Ollivander gave Hermione one last meaningful look before pushing her towards his grandson. "Take these wands and have the girl try them. I think one of them will be to her liking."

Sure enough, the second wand Cara tried, a ten and a half chestnut with unicorn hair, suited her perfectly. They paid for the wand, and as they were about to leave, Ollivander whispered so only Hermione would hear, "Good bye, Miss Granger."

"How….?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold. So that means I remember everyone I've ever sold the wand _to,"_ he whispered before disappearing into the shadows of his shop. Hermione stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded. How could she have been so foolish as to come back here?

Upon exiting the shop, feeling very unnerved, she found Todd standing across the street, a cage with a beautiful brown barn owl inside grasped tightly in his hand. Cara was already rushing to him, throwing her arms around him. "Wow! Thanks Dad!" She relinquished her grip on his neck, bending down to look at her owl. "He's so beautiful! Thank you, Thank you!"

Todd kissed the top of her head, while taking a glance at Hermione. Was that a smirk she detected on his face? She crossed her arms and frowned at him. "Where did you get the money from?"

Todd just smiled innocently. "I figured if you could waltz in and get some, then surely I can as well." He looked down at Cara. "Let's take your owl over to that bookstore."

Hermione continued to look at her husband's retreating back, frowning. They rarely tried to buy their daughter's affection, so why now? She followed at a safe distance behind them, Tobias trotting along behind her. As they turned the corner to head towards the bookstore, Cara was drawn in by a violently coloured store emitting bangs and squeals. Hermione froze. How could she forget about this? And how had she missed it when she had passed it to get to the bank? There was no way she was going to step one inch closer towards that store.

"Mum? Can I go in?" Cara turned around to look at her with pleading eyes. Hermione slowly backed away from her and Todd.

"Why don't you and your father go inside and look around? Give me your list of books and I'll meet you back here." Cara looked a little disappointed, as she loved books as much as Hermione did, but the other store was way more fun. She nodded, pulling her dad towards the joke shop. Hermione was relieved. "Come on Tobias! I could use your hands!" she exclaimed, pulling the little man along.

Once safe inside the bookshop, Hermione was able to relax a little bit. As she paced up and down the rows of books, she finally felt at peace amongst the friends she knew best. She stacked several books into the outstretched arms of poor Tobias. When he inquired into why they were purchasing so many books that weren't on the list, Hermione told him that Cara would read just about anything and that some of them might help 'Hannah' understand the wizarding world better. In reality, Hermione just wanted to read some of the books that looked to be new releases. She grudgingly had admitted to herself that she had missed magic.

After ringing through their purchases, both Tobias and Hermione laden down with several books, they headed back to the dreaded store, waiting for Cara and Todd to emerge. Moments later, they saw the two run out of the store laughing after being chased by a steaming firework that burst over their heads the moment they reached the outside. Cara ran over to her mother, her hands full of Weasley merchandise.

"Mum! Look at all the cool things I bought! This is called Peruvian Darkness Powder," holding up a black bag Hermione was all too familiar with, "and this is their new Sweet Dreams Dream- they say it's like walking through a land of candy! And there was this man in there who said I looked like someone he used to know, but then he just laughed and told me all the jokes in that shop were making him a little crazy! Isn't that funny how a shop here can do that?"

Hermione forced a smile. "Those are very cool Cara. I think we should go pick up the rest of your supplies now. I think we need to go home soon." More for my sake then yours, she thought, worried that whoever had seen Cara may have known her.

As they turned to head towards the Apothecary, a flurry of excitement from inside the joke shop caused a chain of events that Hermione felt had she just moved sooner, would not have occurred.

A deafening bang caused them all to stop in their tracks. A lone figure burst from the store, running head first into Hermione, dragging her to the street, where she bumped her head, leaving the two of them in a pile of books. There was some yelling from all around her as she tried to orient herself again. She felt a weight being pulled off of her, and she was suddenly being dragged to her feet.

"How many times have I told you to watch where you're going? Now go back inside and help clean up young man! I want you to pay back everything, understood?"

Hermione felt she had heard that voice before, but she was too busy being brushed off by Todd and Cara.

"I'm so sorry. My son tends to get carried away. I hope you aren't too hurt."

Hermione turned to the woman, determined not to make eye contact, just in case. "I'm fine thanks."

She started to turn back to face her family, but heard a gasp. No, no, no. This was not going to happen. She pulled away from Todd, running away from the group. She needed to get away from there fast. She prayed she was wrong, and that she had not been recognized. How could anyone have gathered who she was with barely a glimpse of her face. As she hurried away, a hand grabbed her arm, but when trying to pull away, she rammed into someone. She once again landed on the ground. This time there would be no escape. Two voices, in unison rained down on her.

"Hermione?"

As she gazed up at her captors, she knew there was no way she would be able to lie now.

"Hello boys."


	7. Collision Course

"Harry! Are you coming or not? I'd like to leave before noon!"

Harry sat up in the master bedroom, reading a letter he had just received. It was another threatening message, this time asking DO YOU LIKE RIDDLES MR. POTTER? WE DO. He expected a riddle to follow, but there was nothing else on it, except a small smiley face on the bottom corner. Whoever sent this message and the previous one about Hermione was toying with him. He just didn't know how yet.

There had been another disappearance, this time Dennis Creevey. Harry wasn't sure what all these disappearances meant, as there were never any bodies to recover, and no ransom demands had ever been made. The only thing that connected them was they had all been close to him. He was determined to figure out what was happening, and had put his Aurors to work in the hopes of catching whoever was doing this.

He was more determined than ever to try and figure out who was sending these messages, especially the one about Hermione. He knew he hadn't seen her in years, but he was still very protective of her. If someone was hunting down people he cared about, he was going to do whatever he could to protect them. He had even put together some information on Hermione to try and track her down.

"Harry! I'm serious! I'm leaving right now whether or not you're down here!"

Ginny was downstairs growing impatient waiting for her husband. She needed to go to Diagon Alley for some supplies from the Apothecary, and Harry had insisted he tag along. He also insisted that all the children come with them. He didn't tell her he was afraid someone might be hunting down those he cared for.

Harry emerged from his room and went downstairs to find a fuming Ginny trying to separate James and Albus, who were throwing floo powder at each other.

"If you don't stop, you're both going to have to buy your own floo powder! Knock it off!"

Lily sat in front of them combing the hair of one of her dolls, barely concerned by her brothers antics. Harry went over to her and picked her up. "Ooof! You're getting big!" Lily just giggled at her father. "Boys, stop driving your mum insane. She's already crazy enough," earning him a glare from Ginny.

"How nice of you to join us! Are you ready now?"

Harry just nodded, knowing better than to annoy Ginny even more. He held on to Lily and grabbed a handful of floo powder, disappearing from the Potter's fireplace, emerging from another in Diagon Alley.

"And how is my favorite niece in the whole wide world doing!" came a voice from inside the room.

"Uncle George, you say that to all your nieces," Lily giggled.

"Oh luv, I wasn't talking to you! I was talking to your dad!"

Lily fell into a fit of giggles and was swept up into a tickle fight by George, who had been sitting in his office waiting for the Potters to floo into the joke shop. James was now clambering out of the fireplace, and Harry helped pull him out.

"It's been a while Harry. How's the saving the world business coming?" George asked, while Harry pulled Albus, then Ginny from the fireplace.

"It's been busy. I'm sure you've read the Prophet."

George continued to tickle Lily, but pulled a grim face at Harry. "Still no leads on the mysterious disappearances?"

Harry shook his head. He opened his mouth to respond, but Ginny beat him to it. "No grisly crime talk ok? We are just going on a nice, quiet shopping trip. Please just leave it that way."

George chuckled. "Well come on you three. Let's leave Grumpy and your dad alone. They don't get to see the new stock!"

He led the three young Potter's out to the storeroom, James exclaiming as he left. "I like the new beard Uncle George!"

"It's a new product, let me show you…."

Ginny and Harry followed them out of the office, and into the vast storeroom of the joke shop, then wound their way out into the main store. It was bursting with customers, and bangs and whistles were going off like crazy.

George was showing Lily some fluffy bouncing creatures locked in a cage, while Albus and James were nowhere to be found. Their disappearance usually meant they were up to no good.

Ginny wandered over to Lily and George, leaving Harry to peruse the shop on his own. The joke shop was the best investment he had ever made. George never let him forget that without Harry's money, him and Fred would never had been able to start such a large business, and to this day, Harry was allowed to take whatever he liked from the shop, free of charge. Harry rarely did so, but was always happy to see that his money hadn't gone to waste.

As he wandered around the second floor, his path became blocked by a young girl around James' age. She was looking through a barrel of squeaking rubber mice, but blocked Harry from passing her on the narrow catwalk.

"Sorry, do you mind if I sneak past you?"

The girl looked up at him, and Harry gasped. Staring back at him was the exact replica of an eleven year old Hermione Granger.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Here let me move," she replied, but Harry was rooted to the spot. How was this even possible? Now that he was really staring at her, he could see her teeth were as large as Hermione's had been, but her eyes were much darker and her hair was almost blonde, but had definite curls in it. He noted that she spoke with an Australian accent as well. Hermione was supposed to have been staying in Australia….

"Are you alright? Your face looks a little white…" she asked.

'Oh, I'm fine. It's just… you look like someone I used to know…someone I haven't seen in a very long time."

"That's cool! I like it when you see someone who you think is really someone else. It was nice talking to you!" she said as she moved on to the other side of the upstairs, where she met up with a man Harry assumed to be her father, who led her down the stairs.

Harry remained where he was. What were the chances that he receives a threatening letter asking him if he knows where Hermione is, causing him to panic about her whereabouts even after all these years, and suddenly a girl who looks identical to Hermione shows up in Diagon Alley? The idea Hermione was back in London seemed far-fetched, but Harry knew stranger things have happened.

He headed back down stairs to find his family and maybe ask Ginny if she had seen the girl who looked like Hermione. He spotted her talking to Angelina in a corner, Fred II teasing Lily and Albus behind his mother's back. He hurried over to them, all the while scanning the shop for the Hermione doppelganger, who was nowhere in sight. He had hoped they would confirm he wasn't crazy, but before he could reach them, a great bang shook the building, and bright fireworks lit up the store.

Out of nowhere, James zoomed out the front door, hoping to escape the now disco like effects of the joke shop.

"I swear when I get my hands on that kid…." Ginny muttered as she followed behind her son onto the street, Harry close behind her. They saw James barrel into a woman, knocking her and her belongings to the street.

Ginny rushed over to them, cursing along the way before pulling James off of the woman. The woman's husband was picking her off the ground, and Harry saw the Hermione look-a-like staring with concern at the woman who James had just tackled.

"How many times have I told you to watch where you're going? Now go back inside and help clean up young man! I want you to pay back everything, understood?" Ginny yelled at James.

She looked at the woman who was being brushed off by her family. "I'm so sorry. My son tends to get carried away. I hope you aren't too hurt."

The woman barely glanced at Ginny, offering up a quick "I'm fine thanks," before turning back to her family, but she had shown just enough of her face to cause Ginny to gasp. Harry had seen enough as well, that despite age and what appeared to be a very good glamour charm, Hermione Granger was indeed back in London. Before he could say anything to his old friend, she had bolted down the alley.

He chased after her, determined to make sure it was really her. He sped up to catch up to her, managing to grab her arm. She pulled her arm sharply out of his grasp, the force sending her flying into a figure who was running towards them.

She tumbled to the ground, face fully exposed. "Hermione?" Harry asked, as if unsure if it was really her. The other figure said her name at the exact same time he did, all though this one said it with a great amount of surprise.

"Hello boys," she said. She made no motion to stand up, but just continued to lay on the ground. Harry looked up to find the other figure was a heavily panting Ron.

None of them seemed to know what to do next. Ron's breathing was subsiding, and Harry was the first to speak.

"What are you doing Weasley?" turning on the boss mode. "Aren't you supposed to be undercover?" Harry knew Ron was trying to uncover some back door dealings of illegal potions ingredients.

"Course I am! I heard an explosion and came to see what it was. Then I ran into her," pointing on the ground at Hermione, "Or is helping now against the great Potter working standards?"

The two men glared at each other before turning their attentions back to Hermione. Harry glanced at her and saw that her face was less round than before, her skin a dark olive and a sleek straight hair style. But despite all that, Harry without a doubt knew it was Hermione Granger.

Harry was about to ask her why she was back, but he was interrupted by a voice approaching them.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the dimwit duo! Are you back in action then? I'd heard you both seem to dislike eachother, but I suppose mediocre minds do like to come together in the end."

Harry turned to find Draco Malfoy striding up the alley, his trademark smirk shining up at them.

"Shove off Malfoy. You're still the git you were at school," Ron said.

Draco reached the group, his exquisite robes swirling around his feet. "Now, now Weasel. Surely we can move past foolish childhood grudges."

His eyes darted between Harry and Ron maliciously. "What's wrong Potter? Cat got your tongue?" he said mockingly, noting Harry's silence. Harry had lost some of his quick wit during his years of post-traumatic stress, and now just chose to remain silent in certain stressful situations.

"What a pity we can't banter like the good old days!" His eyes fell to Hermione who was now standing behind Harry and Ron. His eyes narrowed as he examined her.

"Have we met before?"

Hermione ducked behind Ron to avoid Malfoy's penetrating gaze.

"Oh you boys must be on duty! Is she an evil dark wizard? Shall I prepare a statue in your honour?"

"Shut up ferret!" Ron shouted at him.

"Manners, Weasley. Now who are you?" Malfoy reached around Ron and pulled Hermione to face him.

He examined her face carefully. Harry watched as Hermione squirmed, hoping Draco wouldn't recognize her. When Malfoy's eyes widened, Harry knew he was fully aware who she was, but there was something in his face greater than shock. Was that fear he saw in the great Draco Malfoy's eyes?

"Granger? What are you doing back?" he said, alarmed.

Hermione ignored him, stepping away from him. Harry watched as Malfoy struggled to replace the confusion and fear on his face with his trademark sneer.

"Well isn't that nice. The Golden Trio, back to save the day. How quaint…."

He continued to stare at Hermione, brows furrowed, before shaking his head.

"So nice to run into you lot again. Shall we do it again sometime?" he said before strolling past them. Ron turned to watch him walk away, but turned his head to soon to watch Malfoy sprint the rest of the way up the alley and disapparate suddenly.

He turned his attention back to Hermione, who was standing with her arms crossed, trying to avoid Harry's gaze.

"What are you doing here Hermione? You've been gone for thirteen years! Why are you back now?" he asked.

Hermione was staring at the ground, avoiding Harry and Ron.

"I'm not back. My husband got a new job here, and my daughter is going to Hogwarts, but_I_ _am not back!_ I've gotten my daughter her supplies, so I'm on my way out! Goodbye," She pushed past Harry in a huff, and headed back to her family.

Harry was at a loss. He needed to talk to Hermione about her safety, but she didn't even want to talk to them about anything.

"Hermione! Wait! We need to talk!"

Harry jogged to catch up to her, Ron bringing up the rear. Hermione whirled around, stopping Harry and Ron in their tracks.

"There is nothing to talk about!" she hissed. "I'm not coming back to the magical world! I'm happy with my family and my quiet life. I don't need them knowing I'm a witch. I've kept this all a secret from them for too long for it to now fall apart."

"It's been a long time Hermione, I think we need to talk about what happened," Ron piped in.

"Oh shut up Ron! You and Harry obviously haven't fixed things, so why should I? I'm not interested in going back to the way things were. I have a very different life now, and I would rather like to leave magic behind me!"

"You've really quit magic? But you loved it!" Ron exclaimed.

"People change Ron. I think that's something you might have realized by now," Hermione retorted.

She turned and ran up the rest of the alley, where her family was waiting with Ginny and the rest of the Potter children. Harry recognized Tobias Twynkle, who was rocking back and forth on his heels, whistling off to the side.

"Hannah! What happened? Why did you run off like that?" Hermione's husband asked.

"Your name is Hannah now?" Ron said.

Hermione shot him a look that could melt glass, and even after all those years, Ron shrank back in fear.

"What does he mean 'now'? Do you know these people Hannah? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Todd, calm down. I've no idea who these people are. I think the explosion spooked me a bit, that's all. They came to make sure I was okay. Let's just go home. Please."

Harry had never heard Hermione sound so…needy. He had always remembered a strong young woman who didn't need permission from anyone.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Mum, who are they talking about? Why'd she call you Hermione?" the girl asked. Harry was struck by the similarities between mother and daughter now they were standing side by side.

"It's nothing Cara! Please let's go home! Professor Twynkle, could you please lead us out?"

The professor made no motion to leave, so shocked was he by what he was witnessing. How he couldn't have seen who the woman really was appalling to him. He had seen her picture everywhere for years, even if she now looked a little different.

"Hermione Granger," he whispered. "The Hermione Granger? She's back!" he shouted. He sprang to life, running down the alley.

"HERMIONE GRANGER! She's back! The Golden Trio is reunited!"

People milling about stopped in their tracks and craned around looking for the source of the commotion. Hermione was appalled when she saw people pointing and staring in her direction. A crowd of people was now forming around the little group. Whispers of excitement brought Diagon Alley to life.

"Hannah! What is all of this? Who are you really?" Todd demanded.

Harry felt terrible for Hermione, who looked as if she was going to be sick. He could feel his own anxiety growing as the crowd around them increased, and people started to point up at his forehead. Ron was looking around him, beaming for the pictures that a cameraman from the Daily Prophet was taking. The reuniting of the three saviours would be front page news tomorrow.

"My name isn't Hannah Graham," Hermione started, tears in her eyes. "It's Hermione Granger. And I'm a witch. A rather famous one at that."

/

Lurking in the shadows of Knockturn Alley, a cloaked figure stood against a wall, listening to the shrieks of excitement coming from Diagon Alley. A man came down the stairs from up above, muttering under his breath.

The cloaked figure grabbed the man. "What's all the commotion about?"

The man brushed the figure off. " 'Ermione Granger's back innit she? 'Parently the whole lot of the 'Trios' back. Ruddy bit of nonsense if yeh ask me…" he said as he walked off.

The figure smiled beneath their cloak. Things were working out better than they could have imagined.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I realize the trio is OOC, but there is good reason for it, and it will definitely be explained. Let me know what you think!


	8. Mystery on the Hogwarts Express

Finally, here's the next chapter! I know its been a long time since the last one, but I made this chapter extra long. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur. Hermione had spent the week after the Diagon Alley incident at her parent's house. She knew Todd was furious with her, and she wanted to give him as much space as possible. She'd given her family a few days, before going home and explaining everything to Todd and Cara. They had listened intently to all the stories she had told them, especially about her role in the war and the demise of her friendships. They had both admitted it was a lot to take in, and that they were still hurt by her secrets, but they were willing to work through it. Hermione had never been away from her family for so long, and was very relieved when she was able to move back home.

Over the next several days, Hermione had told Cara all about Hogwarts and what she could expect while she was there. It only increased Cara's excitement to head off to school. Todd had also sat and listened. He offered up many questions, mostly about the search for the horcruxes. He was fascinated by the lengths Voldemort had taken to stay alive.

One night after Cara had gone to bed, Hermione and Todd had stayed up very late discussing where to go from there. They both agreed that, although their trust had been betrayed, they could both work to get over it. Hermione had been very relieved when Todd had announced to her that he had no intentions of leaving her. He still loved her, and had made her promise that there were to be no more secrets between them. She was finally starting to feel as if things could go back to normal. Maybe returning to England wasn't so bad after all. She regretted thinking that the following day.

She woke up to a cacophony of tapping on her window. She sat bolt upright, scared by the banging.

"Whuzz ah?" Todd sleepily asked.

"I don't know. I'll look."

Hermione threw the covers off of her and slipped into her awaiting slippers. She padded over to the window, and drew the curtains. The sun burned her eyes, but once they had adjusted, she found four owls perched on the window sill.

She gasped at their appearance. She opened the window, and all four hopped inside. They all held their legs, indicating to Hermione she was to remove their goods.

"That's a lot of owls," Todd exclaimed from behind her. "What do they want?"

"I don't know," Hermione answered, her hands shaking as she reached towards the first owl.

She unraveled the string, and pulled a newspaper from the owl's leg. She unwrapped it to find an old picture of her, Ron and Harry. The title was splashed across the front page, "GOLDEN TRIO REUNITED-WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE REST OF US."

A sticky note was also attached to the front.

"Ms. Granger,

Here's a complimentary paper for your enjoyment! It's the fifth in a series! We would love to have the exclusive interview marking your return. Contact us at our offices when you're ready! Sincerely, _The Daily Prophet_."

Todd was reading over her shoulder. "They want you to do an interview? Why are they so fascinated by you?" he asked incredulously.

"I told you. The war was a big deal. Harry was my best friend, and he always had celebrity status. I guess my role in Voldemort's defeat kind of made me famous too. I never told anyone my story. I suppose they want to know why I left."

She was just as confused as Todd was as to why the Prophet would want to talk to her. She unwrapped the other letters from the owls, finding two from biographers interested in telling her life story, and another from a man asking for her hand in marriage. As the four owls took off, several more flew in after them.

She had been home for several days, so why were the owls only starting to find her? She had to push that from her mind as owls bombarded her bedroom. Todd was batting them away from his head as they flew around.

Hermione had to quickly grab all the owls and rip their letters off in order to shove them back out the window again. She managed to get the last one out and slam the window shut before two more owls soared towards her house. It was absolute madness.

She turned to a disheveled Todd, noting the abundance of feathers decorating her room, as well as scrolls and lengths of string. Todd picked up a letter and started to read.

"This woman reckons you're her long lost grand-daughter! She wants to know if you left England because you were scared of meeting her." He looked up at her with utter confusion on his face. "This is mental!"

Hermione was reading a letter from a man who was thanking her for her role in Voldemort's demise, telling her that he had been living in hiding until that time. If it hadn't been for Hermione, Ron and Harry, he was afraid he would have gone mad in his cave. It indeed madness.

Her and Todd spent a further twenty minutes rifling through the letters. Most were congratulating Hermione on her return, some wanting her around for a bit of tea. She was invited to three gala's, and was asked to attend a building opening as well as cut the ribbon for a grand opening of a book store.

She sat down on the edge of her bed, looking down at all the letters in her hand. This was all so insane.

"Shall I go make us some breakfast?" Todd asked.

Hermione looked up at him, nodding her assent. He left her alone with her thoughts, something she was grateful for. He always did have a knack for knowing when she needed her space. The tapping on her window started up again, and she found seven owls crowding her windowsill, shuffling for space. How many letters was she going to receive?

She headed downstairs, listening to Todd clank around in the kitchen. When she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, she was about to make her way to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She looked over at the wall clock. 8:30 in the morning. Who could possibly be calling this early?

She walked down the hallway, looking at the silhouette of the person through the frosted glass door. She opened the door, revealing two men, dressed in beautifully tailored suits, both sporting dark sunglasses.

"Mrs. Nixon?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Jeff Pritchett and this is my partner Andy Carter," who nodded towards her. Both flashed a badge at her.

"We're members of Magical Law Enforcement, and we've been sent to protect you and your family."

Hermione was stunned.

"I'm sorry, but Aurors? What do I need protection for?"

"Mrs. Nixon, if we could come inside for a moment, I think we could better explain our presence here.'

Hermione scowled at the man. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. You are welcome to go back to the Ministry and tell whoever told you to come here, that I don't need protecting!"

Pritchett smirked and gave a sideways glance to his partner. This only annoyed Hermione.

"What? Did I say something funny?"

The Auror instantly became serious.

"No ma'am. It was just that our boss told us you would say that."

"Oh? And who would be your boss? What gives him the right to assume things like that?"

"The head Auror's Harry Potter, ma'am," Andy Carter piped in.

"Harry? What on earth would he want to protect me for?"

The Aurors gave no indication that they were going to tell her why they were standing on her front step.

"Mrs. Nixon, if you could just let us in, we'd be more than happy to explain the schedule and how…."

But Pritchett never got to finish because the door swung in his face before Hermione could hear the rest.

She walked back into the house, and headed for the kitchen. Todd was sitting there, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Who was at the door?"

Hermione sat down across from him. Todd pushed a plate of toast towards her.

"No one."

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/

The Auror office was full of people. It was assignment day, and everybody tried to get there early in hopes of grabbing a seat at the front. There were usually only a few new cases to work on, but if there was anything good, you had to be front and center just in case. Most of the Aurors were crammed into the meeting room, waiting for Harry to arrive.

There was a lot of buzz going on in the room. The string of disappearances still hadn't been solved, and although no more had taken place, everyone was anticipating more.

The door at the back of the room opened up, revealing Harry and his secretary, Anne, who scrambled to her seat. She whipped out a quill and parchment, her hand waving over top of the paper in anticipation of the many notes she would take.

Harry went to stand in front of a podium at the front. He put his papers down on it, and grabbed the glass of water that had been placed there for him. He downed it all in one go. These meetings always made him nervous, even though he was very familiar with all the faces before him. Clearing his throat to gather everyone's attention, he waited until all the quiet chatter dissipated. He cleared his throat one more time before launching the meeting.

"Good morning," he said, his voice cracking a little bit. He paused and reached for his glass, filling it with a clumsy Augumenti. He downed the water, and started again.

"S-s-sorry. Morning everyone. I'm glad so many of you could make it. I know a lot of you have other things you need to do today, so I'll try to be brief. First off, Aurors Carter and Pritchett have been given a special assignment. They will be off their current case of hunting down Robert Kivet, the man accused of murdering two muggles. I need two of you to cover them in their absence. Anyone interested?"

Harry scanned the room. He knew exactly what was going on. No one wanted to volunteer first, as they all believed that there were better cases to come. Unfortunately for them, they didn't know that this was going to be the most interesting thing he had.

"No one? Alright then. Michaels. Davies. You'll take over the case. See Anne after the meeting, she'll give you all the necessary paperwork. Next, there's been word that some Dark artifact smuggling has been going on at the Broken Bottle. Apparently Cass has been allowing people to shuttle things through her bar. Mr. Lynch, I think this might be an easy one for you to handle. Padma, if you would just shadow Johnny, be there if he needs anything, that would be great."

Padma Patil nodded her assent, and gave a quick wink to Johnny, who blushed deeply. Harry felt the pair would work well together, and was glad Padma had agreed. Not a lot of senior Auror's wanted to help train new recruits.

"And finally, as you all know, we are only a few days away from the beginning of September. That means Hogwarts will be starting up again, and this year, we will be patrolling the train."

Murmurs erupted throughout the room, out of shock that the meeting was coming to a close without any new cases, and that some of them had to go look after a bunch of snot-nosed brats.

"What the hell, Harry? Where are all the good cases?" Adrienne Scott yelled. Harry knew this was going to happen, but had braced himself for the onslaught.

"There aren't a lot of cases available at the moment. I've handed out everything I have. Not everything is going to be exciting or dangerous. And the protection of Hogwarts students is going to be a top priority this year."

More angry muttering ensued. Harry heard from the back of the room, "Yeah, his kid's headed to school. Course his kid gets protection."

"And he can hear everything you're saying, Zeon."

The man who had been complaining about his boss instantly flushed. The man beside Zeon laughed. Harry knew that's what people would think, but it was far from the truth.

"James heading off to Hogwarts, as Zeon so kindly pointed out, has nothing to do with our greater presence. With all the disappearances we've been seeing, we need to be extra vigilant. Children could be an easy target. We will be providing an Auror for each train car. Constant patrols will be mandatory. Any volunteers?"

A series of groans rang out, and Harry could see many sink into their seats to avoid being picked. That was fine, he already had people in mind.

"Zeon, I think you would benefit greatly from hanging out with some students." Zeon's neighbor was laughing even more at him. Harry continued. "Marc, if you find Zeon's situation funny, I think you should go as well," instantly shutting the man up.

"Johnny, you can take a day from your current case to go. It will be good to teach you patrol skills. Adrienne. Calliope. You can both go as well. And….Weasley will take lead. Alright folks, that's all for today. Go about your work!"

Harry quickly gathered up his papers, shoving them into a pocket in his robe. He hurried to the door, avoiding the daggers Ron was shooting his way. He did see Ron mutter something to an angry looking Adrienne, but he decided to ignore it. Someone had to do this job, no matter how boring it might seem. He managed to make it out the door without any major conflicts, and was headed back to his office when he heard someone shouting at him.

"Harry! Harry! Wait, I need to ask you something."

Harry turned to see Dean Thomas running towards him. He slowed down so Dean could catch up. When Dean reached him, he started walking towards his office again.

"What do you need Dean?"

"I was just wondering if you'd heard anything about Seamus."

Harry felt bad for Dean. It had been hard for him to lose his best friend, and had been even harder when Harry had taken him off of Seamus' case. He was currently looking for leads on Susan Bones' disappearance, and Harry had felt that Dean's emotions would have gotten the better of him if he was searching for Seamus. Harry had a feeling that all the disappearances were connected, but had requested that each case be conducted separately. He had no proof they were inter-related, and couldn't look at them as such.

"I'm sorry Dean, I don't really know anything. You could ask Morgana or Richard. They're the ones assigned to that case."

Dean sighed. "Alright. I didn't want to bother them again. They keep saying they're not much further along."

Harry and Dean turned a corner that led down a long hallway. Harry stopped and faced Dean.

"This must be hard for you. I'm sure something will turn up. How's your search going?"

Dean scrunched his face up. "Susan seems to have vanished without a trace. No one saw her that day, her house was clean. I don't understand it. I can't help but feel that all the disappearances are interrelated, you know? They have to be."

Harry started walking again. "I don't know Dean. I wish I could help you."

Dean hadn't kept walking with him. "Maybe you can."

Harry turned to him again. He hadn't expected Dean to ask for anything. He was a part of a great team of Aurors, and they had been given a lot of resources to try and find these people. Dean was looking at him with hope.

"I think you know what I want, Harry. You know he's had a lot of experience finding people, in the most unexpected places." Harry knew who he was talking about before he even said it.

"You of all people should know that Ron is one of the best Aurors on the force! I don't get why you insist on wasting his talent on stupid raids and patrols. His talents are going to waste."

This did not surprise Harry. Dean had been on his back for several weeks now, bugging him to put Ron on Susan's case. Harry, however, was not having it.

"No Dean. I've told you a hundred times."

Dean scowled at him. "Let it go Harry! Ron would be perfect on these missing person cases, but you're too wrapped up in a grudge that you can't see it. Why can't you two just make up already? Apologize to Hermione while you're at it."

"Enough, Dean," Harry said, exasperated. "I don't need you telling me how to do my job. Ron is doing those jobs because somebody has to."

Dean was not willing to drop the subject. "Harry, you're making a senior Auror do junior level work. You know it's stupid! Just reconsider it, if not for me, but for the friends who have gone missing. Ron would be an asset to the cases. He could be useful in finding Seamus and all the others. You don't have to like it, but putting Ron on the case would be beneficial."

Dean turned to walk away, angry that Harry was not seeing sense. Harry did in fact know that everything Dean was saying, was indeed, correct. Ron was a good Auror. Harry just couldn't forget everything that had happened between them. He wasn't acting as a boss should. He should be using all resources properly in order to find his friends.

"Dean. If Ron doesn't screw up his lead on the Hogwarts Express patrol, I'll consider putting him on your case."

Dean turned to Harry, and grinned at him. "That's the Harry I know and love!"

As they both walked back to their offices, they both prepared to move Ron onto the case of Susan Bones. Both knew that patrolling train compartments was a simple task. There was little chance that Ron wouldn't be successful. How hard was it to watch some kids?

/\\\\\\\\/\\\\\\\\

Rain was pelting against the windows. The wind howled, and Ron knew that it was going to be a miserable day. Not only was the weather crap, he was lucky enough to spend the day aboard the Hogwarts Express.

There had been a time when he has loved the train ride. It had been fun hanging out with his friends playing exploding snap and anticipating the mouthwatering feast. Now, the only thing Hogwarts held was resentment, anger and bitter feelings. The train ride would only bring him closer to all those unwanted memories.

He'd been getting ready to leave, being as quiet as possible so as to not wake Pandora. He'd stayed over after they had returned home from Witch Weekly's monthly dinner gathering. He hated going to them. Pandora usually deposited him with the other boyfriends and husbands while she would go and gab with her co-workers. He had little in common with the men there, and after they had gone over how much they hated the party, they would lapse into silence.

He had gotten out of the shower only moments ago, but already the sickly perfume of Pandora's shampoo was creating a headache. He really needed to start bringing his own toiletries. Now, he only had to finish his toast and he's be off for a long day of breaking up trivial duels between Gryffindors and Slytherins.

As he shoved the last bits of toast into his mouth, he heard the floor squeak behind him. A pair of arms wrapped around his neck.

"Mmmm, don't you smell nice. Like a daisy!" Pandora giggled. Ron grabbed her arms and pulled her round, sitting her on his lap.

"I think it's about time I bring some real soap into this house!"

Pandora gave him a coy smile. "Or perhaps, I could just move all my belongings into your house. It doesn't make sense for you to be alone all the time."

Ron sighed, and got up, forcing Pandora onto her feet. Her eyes flashed with annoyance when he pushed her away so indelicately.

"Panda, we've talked about it before. I don't know why you want to move in with me so badly. Plus I'm not home that much. Doesn't make much sense."

Pandora had crossed her legs and arms tightly to her body, indicating to Ron that she was growing angry. This never boded well for him, and he felt that he may need to stop at that expensive jewelry store on his way home from work.

"Fine! If you don't want to live with me, I'll just go find someone else. I just thought you might want to start a life together with me." She sighed dramatically. "Oh well, I'll just move on."

"Can we please discuss this later? I'm going to be late. You're the one who said you didn't want to move in together until you made assistant editor, and had a ring on your finger. I'm going to be late tonight, so I can't come to dinner."

Rushing around the apartment, Ron grabbed his robes and struggled to find his left shoe. Pandora stormed after him, obviously not done with their conversation.

"I've been planning this dinner for days! Why do you always skip out on me!? You hate me, don't you? Why are you even dating me? You can show yourself out!"

She spun on her heel and slammed the bedroom door. He could hear her sobbing, but was well aware she was using her stage cry. She knew he would eventually cave and let her move into his apartment. She also knew that he would bring her something especially nice the next time he came over. She loved it when he brought her presents.

He pulled on his shoe and stepped out of the apartment. Once he'd stepped out of the bounds of Pandora's anti-apparation charms, he turned and disappeared.

Landing on the platform of the train to Hogwarts, Ron was struck by how quiet it was. He'd arrived at the station an hour before students were expected to arrive. As the lead on the patrol, he had to make sure that the Aurors under his supervision arrived on time and were in position when the students got there.

He found himself a bench where yesterday's Daily Prophet lay crumpled. He picked it up and opened it. Upon opening it, he found a double page spread, with a laughing picture of himself at sixteen splashed across the first page. Opposite his picture on page two, was a picture of Hermione, studying at a table at the Hogwarts library. The headline that blazed across both pages read "WEASLEY AND GRANGER- A STORY OF LOVE AND CIRCUMSTANCE-A REUNION AHEAD?"

He scoffed and threw the paper to the ground. He heard a chuckle to his left and found Adrienne walking towards him with Johnny and Calliope in tow.

"I take it you haven't been taking the Prophet for the last few weeks."

"I don't know where they come up with this crap," Ron sighed, ruffling his hair. "It was almost fifteen years ago. Who cares anymore?"

"You're a hero Ron," Calliope spoke. "You're a celebrity. Of course people are going to care. Now that all three of you are around, it just reignited everyone's interest."

Johnny piped up. "Plus, everyone loves a good love story."

Ron rose from the bench and just walked away to go find the conductor. He didn't need to listen to them talk about all this stupid gossip. He had little interest in getting back together with Hermione, let alone even talk to her. Besides, she was married with a kid. He had Pandora. They were two different people now.

Zeon and Marc were walking towards him as Ron walked away from the other group of Aurors. They nodded at each other as he passed.

"Ready for a day of hell, Weasley?" Marc asked.

"You know it. The others are here if you want to go hang out with them. I just have to go talk to the conductor."

The two Aurors headed off to stand with the others while Ron boarded the train. He headed to the front of the train, where the conductor was sitting on a reclining chair, sleeping. Ron had never been to the front of the Hogwarts Express, but it was rather unimpressive. A few buttons and lights as controls, but that was it.

Ron cleared his throat. The man didn't stir, so Ron coughed louder. The man rolled from his chair with a crash. He snuffled as he woke up, peering up at Ron.

"Ahhh Weasley," he said gruffly. "You and your men are here I see."

Ron offered the man a hand up. He pulled the man to his feet and found that he was very short. The conductor was wearing overalls over a striped button up shirt and a little conductor's cap. He saw Ron staring at his outfit and smiled at him.

"Saw train conductors wearing this in a muggle book once. Thought I'd try out the ensemble this year. Names McGull. Not sure why all you Aurors are here, but I'll always welcome an extra set of eyes. Damn kids are always setting off explosions. It would be nice to just have a quiet ride."

"Well I hope you can enjoy your journey today. Are you ready to go?"

McGull nodded.

"Alright. I'm supposed to inform you that my team and I will be patrolling each compartment. We'll give you updates throughout. If you see anything suspicious, come find me. I think that's all you need to know."

The conductor nodded. "Gotcha. Guess you don't know why you're here either."

Ron laughed. "All my boss said was that we had to make sure the kids got to school safely. He never said why there had to be so many of us. I should go though. Got to get ready. See you later."

McGull waved to Ron as he left. Ron headed back to his team of Aurors who were complaining about having to spend their day doing this.

"Potter has to have a reason for us to be here. Why else would he send six of us? The train is usually fairly safe," Calliope was saying as Ron approached.

"Maybe he's just on one of his mood swings and wants to punish everyone in the office," Zeon said, bitter that he had been singled out at the last meeting.

Johnny had an optimistic outlook on the whole thing that seemed to lift their moods a bit.

"On the bright side, all you really have to do is sit in a compartment and peek outside every now and then. You can have a nap if you wanted."

Ron felt that catching up on his sleep could be an excellent way to spend the day. Maybe being on the train was going to be a blessing in disguise. It may just turn into a better day.

He assigned each of the Aurors a compartment, telling them they were to inform him of any activity each hour. They all boarded the train and grabbed a compartment as they watched the station fill up with students and their families.

Ron watched as families loaded their kids onto the train. When he spotted Bill and Fleur with their kids, he headed out to see them.

Victoire, Dominique and Louis were all hauling their luggage onto the train, when George and Angelina appeared. Fred and Roxanne were also carrying luggage, but upon seeing their cousins dropped them to go speak with them, causing some poor woman to trip.

"Bonjour, Ron," Fleur greeted him as he approached. Bill slapped Ron on the back when he stopped beside him.

"It's been a while little brother. Why don't you come round anymore?"

"Been busy," was all Ron could say.

George looked around the station. "Anyone seen Percy or Ginny yet? Thought maybe we'd say hello before we popped off. Gotta get back to the shop."

The Weasley clan looked around for the rest of their family, but they were not in sight. Angelina was trying to stop Fred and Louis from sneaking off together, knowing that trouble was sure to follow.

"Why are you here Ron?" she asked as her eyes followed her son and nephew as they fought with rubber wands. From the look on his face, they could all figure out the reason.

"We're patrolling the cars. Gotta keep the kids safe. Blah blah blah."

They all knew Ron was unhappy at work, and they all knew what the cause of it was. The only problem with saying anything was that they were all related to each other. They couldn't bash Harry to make Ron feel better and they didn't want to tell Harry to stop being an idiot towards Ron. It was an awkward situation for everyone.

To break the tension, George began offering up suggestions on how to make the train ride fun. They were all laughing when Fleur spotted Percy and Audrey, who were sending Molly off to school. They waved at them and Percy waved back, indicating they would be over soon. The Weasley's went back to their conversation, but it wasn't long before they were interrupted by a cheery voice.

"You're having a party without me! No fair!"

Ginny stood behind them carrying Lily, James and Albus standing behind her. Ginny set Lily down and hugged everyone. James ran over to Fred and Louis, getting into their duel for himself. Albus hung back, watching everyone from afar.

"Where's Harry?" Angelina asked as she bent down to examine Lily's new stuffed dog. Ginny looked uncomfortably at Ron, who tried not to look as though he cared. He may not care for Harry, but he didn't want to hurt his sister or her children.

"He's at work. And you know…the crowds get to him… James stop hitting Fred!"

Ginny stormed over to her son who was indeed pummeling his cousin. The train whistle sounded, indicating ten minutes before the train was to depart. Ron was left standing alone as his siblings went off to get their kids onto the train. Ron felt he should probably head onto the train as well, and headed towards his car.

As he walked, Bill caught up to him.

"You may not want to go that way."

"My compartment is up there. I have to go that way."

Bill looked uncomfortable. "Hermione and her family are up there. She looks really different now, but it's definitely her. Just don't make a scene. Have a good train ride!" he shouted as he went to find Fleur.

'Great,' Ron thought, 'now I'm going to have to walk past _her_.'

He steeled himself, and rushed past people as quickly as he could. He did indeed see Hermione and her husband, hugging their daughter. Hermione looked up just in time to see him walk by, making no indication she saw him.

He walked into his car, moving out of the way as two kids raced past him. 'This is going to be great,' Ron thought. 'Me and a bunch of stupid kids.'

He walked to the end of the car, slipping into the compartment he had put his stuff in. He found three first years sitting quietly and as far away from each other as they could get, with all his belongings pushed to the floor. He gave the kids an angry glare, causing one of the little girls to squeak and pull her sweater over her eyes. It was going to be a long ride.

He decided to go make sure everyone got on the train safely instead of sit with the first years, just as the whistle sounded again. The train started to move under his feet, and he heard lots of compartment doors slamming.

As he walked the hall, he peered into each compartment. One was full of leering Slytherins, another full of giggling girls. Various kinds of students filled the compartments, but only two caught his attention. The first was full of his nieces and nephews as well as some of their friends. Dominique was playing exploding snap with a friend and Molly, while Fred and Louis were balancing chocolate frogs on their foreheads as James looked on. Ron smiled when he saw them.

The compartment beside it was completely different from the compartment he had just passed. Three inhabitants sat inside, in complete silence. One of the kids was a boy who looked sickly. Beside him was a girl already dressed in her robes, peering out the window. Across from them was another girl who had her nose buried in a book.

He opened up the door, concerned about the boy, who seemed to be getting sicker by the minute.

"Hey, are you ok buddy? You don't look too good."

The boy looked up at Ron with huge eyes.

"Oh yeah. This happened last year too. The train's rocking makes me nauseous."

The girl who had been looking at the window was now staring at Ron as if he was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I know who you are," she said. "You're Ron Weasley. You helped fight Voldemort."

Ron was uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him, and felt like he should just answer her and leave.

"I am indeed," he said, slowly backing out.

"My parents told me all about you."

The girl reading the book slowly looked over at Ron. He stopped his slow exit from the room and looked at her. He knew he had seen her before, and it dawned on him that she was Hermione's daughter. The window girl was talking about some article her parents had framed about Voldemort's demise, but Ron was more interested in Hermione's daughter.

The more he stared, the more he saw how similar they looked. It was kind of eerie that the first good look at her was on the Hogwarts Express, similar to his meeting with Hermione. Cara stared back at Ron just as intently.

"You can take a picture. It will last longer."

Ron laughed at Cara's comment, but was unnerved by her Australian accent. It was like looking at Hermione, but when she spoke she sounded nothing like her mother, only Cara's wit matching Hermione's.

"I don't have a camera with me I'm afraid."

"Then I suppose you'll just have to remember my face somehow," picking up her book again.

"What's your name?" Ron asked.

"Cara."

"That's a nice name. I see you're from Australia."

Cara put her book down on the seat.

"We both know that we both know each other. My mum told me about you."

Ron wasn't expecting that. He thought Hermione would never mention him to her family.

"She had to tell me and my dad everything after Diagon Alley. I know you were once friends with her."

"Did your mum tell you what happened between us then?" Ron wanted to know what had caused Hermione to leave for so long. Cara just shrugged.

"She said you, Harry Potter and her got into a fight. I think she told my dad the details."

Ron was a little disappointed, but the two other kids in the compartment were hanging on every word the two of them were saying. Cara stared at him, as if waiting for him to say something profound.

"Well…uh…I oughta to back to patrol. Just wanted to let you kids know there are Aurors on board to make sure your journey to Hogwarts is safe. If you see anything, let me know."

He backed out of the compartment, slamming the door as he left. The window girl continued to stare at him the whole time, while Cara had already gone back to her book.

Ron felt weird about meeting Hermione's daughter. There had been no judgment when she spoke to him. He had been waiting for her to say something about how he had driven Hermione from the country and that he was a horrible person. He felt that after the argument that had ended their friendship, he and Hermione could never have a conversation that didn't involve yelling.

He walked back down the hallway to his compartment, where he found the first years in the exact same positions he had left them in. He didn't think he could stand their silence, so he decided to walk the length of the train to see how his fellow Aurors were fairing.

As he walked down the train, he found that his car was the quietest by far. Poor Johnny's hair had been lit on fire when a box of WWW fireworks went off in his compartment.

Zeon had to get Ron to help him find one student's pet. It turned out the kid had brought a python on the train, but had thought a wicker basket would be enough to hold it. One of his friends had kicked the basket and the snake had slithered out. It took Ron and Zeon over an hour to find the snake, amid shrieks and screams whenever someone saw the snake slither by.

By the time Ron had visited Calliope, Marc and Adrienne, he had been away from his car for over two hours. He was sure that nothing wild could have happened, but he went to make sure everything was fine. Dean had let slip that if Ron did a good job he could come work on a case with him. Ron had to make certain that this patrol went without a hitch. He didn't need to give Harry a reason not to promote him.

When he got back to his car at the front of the train, he passed his still silent compartment first. He chuckled at the timid first years, and continued down. Nothing of interest was happening in the following cars. When he got to the one with his family inside, he paused to talk to them.

"Hey Uncle Ron! How goes babysitting?" Fred asked, without breaking his hold on the headlock he held Louis in.

"It's fine. You should probably let go Fred, he's turning blue."

Fred relaxed his grip. Louis fell to the compartment floor, panting for breath. Ron counted the people in the compartment, noticing that someone was missing.

"Where's James?"

Molly looked up from the Quibbler she was reading. "He left a while ago. The conductor came round and said he needed some help with something. He took James with him."

Ron was confused. In all his years taking the train, he had never even seen the conductor. What was he doing coming out and asking a student for help, let alone a first-year.

Trying not to seem worried, Ron asked Molly how long James had been gone for. She shrugged.

"I don't know. Half-hour or so."

That wasn't too long then. Perhaps McGull just needed someone to watch the train as he went off to the loo for a bit. No big deal.

Ron slid out of the compartment to go and check the last one. When he looked inside, the sickly boy and creepy staring girl where having a chat, but Cara was nowhere to be seen. He pushed open the door and the two kids immediately stopped talking.

"Where's Cara?" he asked.

The sickly boy opened his mouth to respond, but the girl beat him to the punch.

"She went to help the conductor a half-hour ago. Why?"

Ron's heart dropped. What were two kids doing helping a conductor? He raced out of the compartment and into the train's engine room. There was no evidence of James or Cara.

As he got closer to the front, he saw the conductor sitting in his chair.

"McGull! Did you bring two kids in here with you?"

There was no answer in return. Ron was beginning to panic a little.

"Hey! I'm talking to you man! Did you bring two kids in here?"

But Ron knew something was wrong even before he reached the chair. He got to the chair, only to find McGull dead, his eyes wide and mouth open in a scream. Ron fell back against the controls, horrified by the scene.

Collecting himself, a piece of paper was folded on the dead man's lap. With shaking hands, he picked it up and unfolded it.

In big bold letters across the page was a short message.

"LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE WON'T BE GETTING THEIR PROMOTION."

The letter fluttered to the ground. Cara and James were nowhere to be found. Ron couldn't care less about his job. He had lost his sister and former friends' children. He was in a lot more trouble than just losing his job.


	9. Meeting

Waiting was definitely the worst part of Ron's evening. Even before the Hogwarts Express had stopped at Hogsmeade station, the Auror's on board had jumped into action, informing all the right people about the murder and kidnapping that had taken place. There had been teams of Aurors waiting for them. Some had boarded the train to examine the crime scene, while others took the students up to the castle to ensure their safety. Ron had also headed up to the castle, where he had deposited himself in the Headmistress' office, waiting for the parents of the kidnapped children.

He sat anxiously awaiting the events that were sure to follow. Having to regale the events of a kidnapping to any parent was difficult, but to have to tell your sister, your brother in law who was also your boss, and the woman you had once loved but was now with another man, seemed almost impossible to Ron. They weren't on positive terms to begin with, so this meeting was sure to end in bloodshed. Ron was very certain it would be his blood too.

The door opened behind him, and he turned in his chair to see Professor McGonagall leading a group of people into her office. A very angry looking Harry was gently guiding a red eyed Ginny into the office, followed by a stony faced Hermione. Kingsley Shacklebolt followed Hermione, and was accompanied by a very tiny witch, with mousy brown hair, wearing a lumpy beige and puce wool sweater.

"Mr. Weasley, as nice as it is to have you in my office, next time would you be so kind as to inform me before you break in?" Professor McGonagall asked while briskly walking past him to get to her desk.

"Sorry Professor," Ron blushed. He had indeed manipulated the stone gargoyle outside the office to let him in.

She nodded at his apology, then waved her wand, conjuring up extra seats for her guests before settling into her chair. As soon as the tiny witch sat down, she pulled a huge role of parchment from her bag and whipped out a quill. She started scratching notes about something. Ron noticed that everyone else seemed to pull their chairs away from him, as if he had some sort of disease. He slumped into his chair as he watched McGonagall conjure some glasses and pour some amber liquid into each glass. She passed them to everyone in the room.

"This is certainly not the way I wanted to be reunited with some of my past students," McGonagall remarked. "I'm sorry that the circumstances couldn't have been happier."

Ron took a sip of his drink, relishing in the burning aftertaste. He looked over at Ginny, who was staring down at the drink, her hand shaking. Hermione had already downed her drink.

"Mr. Weasley, I think it best if you explain everything that happened on the train the afternoon. How did someone get onto the train undetected?" McGonagall asked.

Ron opened his mouth to answer, but Harry beat him to the punch.

"It's my fault. I left Ron in charge against my better judgment. I thought he could handle one simple task, but apparently even that was too difficult for his small brain to comprehend."

McGonagall flinched at Harry's brutality towards his former best friend.

"Really Potter, is that necessary? I'm sure Weasley was doing exactly as he was instructed to do," she said briskly. Ron and Harry just glared at each other.

"Ron," Kingsley interrupted. "Tell us what happened."

Ron broke his gaze and turned to Kingsley.

"Shouldn't we wait for Hermione's… husband" (it was hard for him to say) "to arrive? Surely he wants to be informed."

Hermione was now the one to glare, but it wasn't at Ron. Her dagger stare was aimed at Kingsley, rather than Ron.

"Todd won't be joining us today," she said stiffly. She was sitting rigidly in her chair, and her fists were clenched so tightly around her glass Ron was afraid she was going to shatter it. "The Minister and his crony have decided to hold this meeting in the castle, where Todd is not allowed to enter. He can't even see it for that matter! But hey! Why not discuss his daughter's disappearance without him?!"

"Hermione, we told you back at the house that Todd wouldn't be able to enter the castle even if we brought him. The anti-muggle charms are a part of the ancient magic of the school and we can't bring them down at will," Kingsley said to her patiently.

"I know that, _Kingsley_," she said snidely. "I've read Hogwarts: A History. I know what the castle can do. Why we had to actually come to the castle is beyond me! We could have gone anywhere else to have this discussion, but you insisted that we come _here_! One of the few places that my husband is not allowed to be, even though he has every right to!"

The tiny witch could barely write fast enough. Ron vaguely wondered what on earth it was she was writing down.

"Kingsley, would you mind if I spoke to the families on my own?" McGonagall interrupted Kingsley, who was trying to make a retort to Hermione. "I think it would be best if you and your employee," nodding to the still furiously writing witch, "left us to discuss what has happened, without the pressure of the Ministry."

Kingsley looked at the Professor incredulously. "Minerva! This is a matter for the Ministry, and I think I should be present for any information Ron may divulge. He is a ministry employee and my responsibility. I don't want any promises or secrets being told. And Ayana has to be present to document everything!"

With a cold look that caused Kingsley to shiver, McGonagall continued. "I understand your concerns…Minister," she said icily, "but we must remember that there are children missing and their families are grieving. And as you decided to hold this meeting at my school, you are under my jurisdiction. I suggest you go down to check on the investigation, and by the time you return, I'm sure everyone will have calmed down enough to tell you everything you need. You will get all your information."

McGonagall didn't have to say goodbye for Kingsley to know he was dismissed. He rose, with the ministry witch following closely at his heels. Once the door had clicked shut, McGonagall turned her focus to her former students.

"We don't have much time. If you could all follow me. Quickly!"

They all followed her to the small area behind her desk, with confusion. She grabbed a book on the shelf and pulled it towards her.

"Where on earth are you taking us?" Hermione asked, as the wall behind them slid open and revealed a small stone hallway. McGonagall proceeded over to the door and motioned for them to follow.

"The last time you were Hogwarts, there was a falling out between the three of you. I assume you all remember that?" They all nodded. They ducked as they entered the hall. McGonagall lit her wand, as the others followed behind her.

"It was no coincidence that you all decided to go your separate ways. I'm afraid that there was a plan to make sure you didn't stay in touch."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks, causing poor Ginny to bump into him. "You mean the reason that we fought that day wasn't because we wanted to."

The little amount of light coming from McGonagall's wand wasn't enough for Harry to see his old professor stiffen. "If we could just keep moving forward, I'll explain everything."

They walked only a short distance before the hallway opened up into a small chamber. McGonagall waved her wand and several torches around the room lit up. It was a small, stone area, with various chests stacked against one wall. The ceiling seemed to go on forever though, giving the illusion of extra space.

"Why are we here?" Hermione demanded, her arms crossed and her face pinched.

"Because it's completely impenetrable, and only a Hogwarts Headmaster knows where it is. I have something very important to tell you all, and I needed to be sure that we wouldn't be interrupted." McGonagall sighed.

"When Voldemort fell thirteen years ago, a spell was activated. There had been rumours that there was a plan that would be activated in the event of his demise. In any case, it involved the three of you," nodding to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "The three of you had gone to great lengths to destroy Voldemort, and there were a few Death Eaters who didn't want to see everything they had worked for be destroyed by the three of you. So there was a plan, that if Harry survived killing Voldemort, they would take him and use him to resurrect Voldemort."

"How?…" Ron asked before McGonagall silenced him with a look.

"Please try not to interrupt. We really have little time. There were a few Death Eater's who suspected the use of horcruxes. Apparently, a few of the brightest there were, created a ritual that would use the shell of the old horcruxes to bring back their Lord. But the problem was that you three had many of the horcruxes and were unlikely to give them up or had already destroyed them. So the Death Eaters came up with a new plan."

"You had all been touched by Dark Magic. You all wore the necklace, you all destroyed a horcrux, you've been bathed in darkness. The plan then became something much darker than simply resurrecting the Dark Lord. Their plan now involved taking the three of you, uniting the power that you had all been touched by, and making you all one Being that would be greater in power than even Voldemort."

Ginny gasped. Harry and Ron both looked stunned, but Hermione looked unimpressed by the whole idea.

"You're joking," she said incredulously. McGonagall looked taken aback by her tone.

"I certainly am not, Ms. Granger."

"It's Mrs. Nixon, and I think you are! There is no possible way that you can combine three people and make them one! And we destroyed the horcruxes. They aren't around anymore. Sure we touched them and killed them, but that doesn't mean we have traces of them left on us. This whole thing is absurd. Who was stupid enough to think their idiotic plan would actually succeed?"

A small cough from behind them made them all jump. "If I may interject, I can happily explain my idiotic plan."

They all turned to see a small portrait beside the door that they had all missed upon their entering of the chamber. In it stood a small version of Albus Dumbledore.

"It does seem to be a ridiculous plan Hermione, but it is indeed entirely possible. I couldn't believe it myself, but the magic works. The dark magic of a horcrux is so understudied that no one really knows what happens to those who are exposed to them for extended periods of time. It would seem that the three of you are indeed still touched by the fragments of soul. They cause no harm to you, but they are present. They could be reawakened if it was done properly. It was tested actually, but the subject was later destroyed. Severus brought me proof of its existence. It would be the unification of your three strands of magic rather than of your body. There would be a different carrier for your magic, but you would all be destroyed in the process. What better way to create panic and destruction than to turn the heroes of the magical world evil, and destroy everything they had worked so hard to gain."

"I told Minerva to hit you all with a personality charm that would drive you all away from each other. If you all stayed here, united, then it would be easy to take your magic. But if you were scattered, with little chance of being reunited, then it would be impossible for their plan to be activated. However, it appears that the charm manifested in each of you differently than was expected and has never worn off. It seems a hatred has developed, when that was never to be the intention. I'm afraid I don't know what went wrong."

"This wouldn't be the first time one of your plans has gone wrong," Harry said. "There were so many things that you've done wrong. So many people who died because you had a plan. You drove us apart and made us different people. Did you ever think about what we wanted?"

Portrait Dumbledore sighed, although he was too small to actually see any of his features. "I'm so very sorry, to all of you. You are right Harry. You have been right so many times. And I'm afraid my plan has once again gone wrong. I underestimated the Death Eaters, and I made a grave error. I thought that they needed to have the three of you for their ritual to work, but I was wrong. That is why your children have been taken. They can be used to get the same results. Your blood runs through them, and there is enough for them to work with. Ron does not have a child, but that does not seem to be necessary. The fact that you and Ginny have a child, and Hermione has returned home seems to have reactivated the plan."

"Why does Ginny matter in this?" Harry asked.

"I was possessed by Voldemort!" She gasped.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said solemnly. "There needs to be three people touched by dark magic for it to work. I assumed any child you and Harry had would be safe, but I never calculated your ordeal from the Chamber of Secrets. They have enough magic from your son and Hermione's daughter that they don't need a third person. They can simply use your children. In your children, they have the three contributions of dark magic needed. Not only do they get a new leader, but they get to watch as they destroy your children in front of you. They are finally exacting their revenge."

"You've always been a selfish man! Never thinking of the impact on others!" Hermione screamed at Dumbledore, but she found that he had already left the portrait.

"So what do we do now?" Ron asked.

The room was silent, except for Ginny's sobbing. Harry was holding her closely as he stroked her hair.

"Let us go back to my office. Kingsley will be back shortly. Don't tell anyone at the Ministry about any of this," McGonagall said, pleading with them to keep their silence.

Ron nodded, but Hermione and Harry said or did nothing. It was their children that were being put in danger. They didn't feel like making any promises.

They made their way back through the stone hallway and back into McGonagall's office. McGonagall replaced the book on the shelf and the secret doorway closed.

Ron went and sat back down on one of the chairs in front of the desk. Ginny and Harry stayed together by the secret door, talking in hushed tones. Hermione barreled towards the office door, intent on leaving. Just as she grabbed the door handle, the door opened revealing Kingsley and the ministry woman.

"Ahhh Hermione, I see you're ready to talk. Shall we sit down?"

But Hermione glared at him and pushed past him, descending the stairs.

"Where has she gone? We have to talk about what we're going to do to find her daughter!"

"I suspect she's gone home," McGonagall said as she settled into her chair. Kingsley's mouth opened to try and argue but McGonagall dismissed it. "I think it would be best if you didn't pursue her. I don't think she would greet you with pleasantries."


End file.
